About this item
Eleven-year-old Solomon loves to run! The Ethiopian national team are his heroes and he dreams of being a gold-medal winner like themt. When his grandfather announces he's going to take Solomon to Addis Ababa, Solomon cannot believe his ears. His joy increases when he realizes that the Ethiopian running team will be in the city that day. But as Solomon follows his grandfather through the city, he learns something he cannot believe. The strict old man is a war hero who once risked his life to save a friend, and has been in hiding ever since. When grandfather collapses, Solomon must make a 20-mile run to home, his grandfather's life hanging in the balance. Can he do it?
About the Author
Laird was born in New Zealand in 1943, the fourth of five children. Her father was a ship's surgeon; both he and Laird's mother were Scottish. In 1945, Laird and her family returned to Britain and she grew up in South London, where she was educated at Croydon High School. When she was eighteen, Laird started teaching at a school in Malaysia. She decided to continue her adventurous life, even though she was bitten by a poisonous snake and went down with typhoid. After attending the university in Bristol, Laird began teaching English in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She and a friend would hire mules and go into remote areas in the holidays. After a while at Edinburgh University, Laird worked in India for a summer. During travel, she met her future husband, David McDowall, who she said was very kind to her when she was airsick on a plane. The couple were married in 1975 and have two sons, Angus and William. Laird has also visited Iraq and Lebanon. She claims to dislike snakes, porridge and being cold but enjoys very dark chocolate, Mozart, reading and playing the violin in the Iraq Symphony Orchestra. She currently lives in Richmond, London with her husband.
