Showing results by author "Richard Johnson - illustrator" in All Categories

Hayley is furious that her beloved cat, Judy Garland, keeps sneaking off to the garden of the weird old lady across the street. Lillian, or Boo, as Hayley calls her, hasn’t left her house for years, not since the council came up with their plan to knock down the row of houses to make way for a new development. Everyone in the street dismisses Lillian as an eccentric old woman, but when Hayley is forced to get to know her, an unlikely bond develops between them and Hayley learns the real reason behind Lillian’s reluctance to move.

The blackbirds’ song uplifts and restores in this captivating novella from one of the most exciting voices in children’s fiction. After a devastating car crash, Annie is unable to play her flute and retreats from the music she’s always loved. She exists in a world of angry silence – furious with her mum and furious she can’t seem to play her beloved flute any more. Then she meets Noah, who shows her the blackbirds’ nest hidden in the scrubland near their flats.

When Noah’s dad visits from New York, he and Noah come across an injured nightjar during a walk in the countryside. Noah is determined to save the bird, but his dad believes they should leave it alone to let nature take its course. As father and son argue, it becomes clear that Noah is angry about more than just the bird. He feels abandoned and misunderstood by his dad, who has moved to the US and started a new family there that doesn’t seem to have room for Noah. Can they find a way to build a new relationship and rediscover the common ground between them?