Author hide-outs

Nick Arnold

Nick Arnold is a tall fair-haired young man with a friendly smile. He wears a blue sweatshirt and dark blue trousers. He sits on the right of the picture at one end of a sofa in his light, airy laboratory. The laboratory has a wooden floor with a blue and pink patterned mat. The walls are white with narrow wooden beams and the windows have blue curtains. Bookcases and shelves contain files, boxes, plastic crates and papers. One bookcase has its sliding doors open showing rows of books and next to it is a dark blue rubbish bin. Through an open door behind Nick's head, we get a peep of a shiny washbasin. Nick is holding a book with a tiger's head on the cover. But he isn't reading it; he is looking to his left at the owner of the stripy paw on his lap.

Look about for the first Hotspot. Inside the first Hotspot, you will find Nick under a tree, blowing up a mauve balloon, his cheeks puffing out ready to burst. Once the balloon is blown up, he puts the narrow part of a plastic funnel into the neck of the balloon, managing not to let out any air. The top of the funnel is half full of flour.

Your may like to know that when Nick lets the air out of the balloon all the flour puffs out everywhere into the air and he looks very pleased with himself indeed.

Move on to find out who owns the stripy paws. Stretched out on the sofa next to Nick is a large stuffed tiger, his big head held up high with his nose in the air, whiskers alert. His eyes are half closed as if he might be purring with pleasure, as Nick has his arm round him, stroking his back. The tiger's tail dangles over the edge of the sofa, which is covered with a tiger striped throw.

There's another Hotspot near here. At this Hotspot, you will find Nick by the seaside. He is sitting on a wall with a book in his hand, the sea blue and calm behind him. Here's a surprise! Lying on the wall beside him is a live grey and white dolphin, its scales wet and shiny in the sunshine.

Move on past Nick and the tiger. In front of another window with blue curtains, are a tall metal standard lamp with a white upward shade and a filing cabinet with two of the drawers half open.

Move on again to find a sink unit with a white fridge and a cabinet beneath it. On the unit is a clutter of bottles and jars, a white electric kettle and some crumpled packets of coffee and tea. At the end of the unit, against the far wall of the studio is a plastic crate of files and books.

Look about for a Hotspot close by. Inside this Hotspot, you will find Nick in a school classroom. The children can't be seen, but the school Librarian sits beside him. She wears a brown jumper with a yellowish cardigan over it and her fair straight hair is cut quite short, just past her ears. Nick places an enormous pale green shower cap flat on her head and she peers up at him from under it with a very anxious look in her brown eyes.

Move on and Nick steps in through an open doorway, one foot on the blue and pink striped mat on the floor in front of him. He has a long black cloak draped round his shoulders and he looks out at us with an expectant expression, over the top of the book he is holding in one hand. In the other hand, as if he has just taken it off, is a large silver mask with a domed head and enormous black bug-eyes. On the right is the corner of a table with a white cloth.

Move on to see what's on the table. The first object on the table is a white kitchen scales holding the model of a brain. Next comes a Horrible Science book standing on end to show the cover.

Start looking for a Hotspot here. The Hotspot roundabout here somewhere shows Nick looking at lots of the books in his collection. He has a notebook in his hand as he moves from bookcase to bookcase, busily making notes.

Next to the book on the table, a grinning skull sits on top of a canister and, behind the table stands Nick. He is bending over laughing at us, merrily sawing away at half a leg. The sole of the foot is towards us, the toes sticking up almost as if they might wiggle at any moment. Under the table, in a patch of sunlight on the polished floor, sits a little grey and white cat. At first it looks real, perky and cute but like the tiger, it's a cuddly toy. Beside the cat crouches a tiny toy mouse.

Don't frighten the mouse away, just look for a Hotspot nearby. In this Hotspot, Nick is back in the classroom, holding the cuddly cat. As he talks to the children, he strokes the cat, moving it about like a glove puppet. When Nick asks a question, some arms in royal blue jumpers are raised.

Move on to the right of the table where there are pictures and maps on the wall. A narrow shelf holds postcards, a miniature camera and a model bus. Below the shelf is more of Nick's office paraphernalia, files, a fax machine, crates of papers, a portable radio.

Move on again to discover Nick sitting at a worktable, smiling out at you, a pad on his knee, a pen in his hand. On the left is his computer and books and paper everywhere. On the wall above are pictures of some of his characters. One is a pencil drawing of a skinny girl with long hair, spiky fingers, baggy pants and a rather surprised look on her face.

Can you find the last Hotspot? Nick is in his laboratory in this Hotspot. He sits at his desk looking at books, making notes and speaking on the phone. Suddenly everything starts to go double speed and Nick whizzes up and down stairs, in and out of the door, frantically foraging through his papers till he calms down and starts writing on his computer at a normal speed, looking very happy and relieved.

Move on to the right of Nick's elbow and find yourself back at the beginning where Nick is waiting for you on the sofa, a book in his hand and a pair of stripy paws on his lap.