I will refrain from talking about the animals that you meet throughout the story, as I think it is better to experience them blind, allowing your feelings for them to develop naturally, like the children’s do. Don’t go into this thinking that they will be minor or throwaway however; they are just important as the humans! Ma sent her children to find ‘a lost island’. It seems a hopeless task – what is it, where is it, why is it lost? They have no knowledge of it, or why they have to go there, but they know they must find it. And finally, the seemingly impossible quest is almost completed: Lost Island is located at last. Heartfelt meditation about living alongside grief’: A Shelter for Sadness by Anne Booth and David Litchfield. Illustration: David Litchfield I wasn’t sure which ages this book is meant for because I got it from a YA section but I’ve also seen it in the 9-12 section. It did feel aimed at a younger audience, but I think that was a good thing for it because the message definitely works more for a younger audience than a YA one.

It balances the line between grief and wonder, hope and fear. I was chilled, heartbroken and felt reflected in it too, but the story, it is glorious and visionary with epic adventures and beautiful characters! I loved it so much.’– Dara McAnulty I’ve spent my entire career communicating biological science to children in various ways, trying to raise passionate zoologists, environmental advocates and campaigners. So almost all of my previous books in some way are about nature and human relationships with the natural world. In some ways, The Song That Sings Us is entirely consistent with that history, with deep roots in zoological science and in what I know about the human connection with all living things. But, this time, I wanted to write about it in a really different way, in a way that would be more emotionally engaging, in a way that would take my readers on a really exciting journey, in a way that would deliver a powerful message that everyone needs to hear.” My thoughts on ‘The Song That Sings Us’ The winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2023 have been announced, with one winner from each of the four categories announced: Picture book, Children... This is just the hurtling, breathless start to their various adventures. They are in a world where nature is not only under threat but under monstrous assault, quite literally in the case of The Monster, a tree-razing machine which voraciously eats up forests.Empty shells,Only the shallow know themselvesDeeper and deeper, day by dayTo keep the weary world at bayRaise your mast and fly awayInto a sky of blue and greyNo one to save usSailing our sinking shipsUp and away Breakfast on the lawnIn the sweet September swayHelpless and fornlornSince the pills and powders passed their wayLost themselves, forever seekingSearching pole to poleWhile the needle and the threadStitches them whole The shadows sway and seem to say"Tonight we pray for water, cool water"And way up there He'll hear our prayerAnd show us where there's waterCool, clear water Ash and Xeno are a few years younger, used to being provided for and protected. At the start of the action, Ash is scared and withdrawn, and it takes him some time to stand up for himself. Like Harlon, Ash has a good heart, but without the stern edge from years of training. As the story progresses, he grows and matures, and he has a way of drawing people to him and making friends that benefits the group later on.

A very special book. Inspiring, important and innovative – full of action that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Nicola Davies is a magnificent writer and this is a tour-de-force. It’s for fans of Mortal Engines as much as it is for those who love Watership Down’. – Simon FisherThe Song That Sings Us is a hugely ambitious and important novel for all ages, dealing as it does with major concerns of environmental change and destruction. There is an enormous character list, and those of us who get confused by trying to remember who’s who could begin by jotting down new characters as they occur – but I promise you that very soon you’ll abandon the list. Nicola Davies’ powerful narrative will sweep you along with it, and everything and everybody will fall into place! And of course, as the title portends, there’s a lot of beautiful singing, not least at the novel’s end. This arrives as a sort of choral epiphany with many of the books characters raising their voices in unison, underlining the sheer connectedness of things and, by dint of this, placing the reader very much at the heart of it all. There’s even a map of a country which bears more than a passing resemblance to Wales, albeit a version which shows how the edge of the ice seems to be in line with somewhere near Holyhead, and to the north of that extends the White Sea, where snow bears roam and mammoths mingle. Much of this is facilitated by the fact that special beings, known as Listeners can communicate with the natural world and so commune with creatures such as snow terns which ‘fly between the ends of the world, from here, around the White Sea, to Diwedd Pawb, right at the bottom of the world.’