Highly Commended for the UKLA Book Awards 2020 | Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal 2020
Norman John Gillies was one of the last children born on the remote Scottish island of St Kilda and is the subject of this emotionally compelling story of a community relocated to the mainland in 1930. This is a beautiful, moving evocation of place and connection written and illustrated with a simplicity that speaks to young and old alike.
Norman John Gillies was one of the last children ever born on St Kilda, five years before the whole population was evacuated forever to the British mainland. People had lived on these islands for over four thousand years, developing a thriving, tightly-knit society that knew nothing of crime or money, and took care of its weakest members without hesitation. At the mercy of the seasons and the elements, a unique lifestyle evolved, based around resilience, mutual trust and caring.
What was it like to grow up in such harsh conditions? Why and how did this ancient way of life suddenly cease in 1930? Where did the islanders go, and what became of them? And what became of Norman John, child of St Kilda?
Beth Waters is an author, illustrator and printmaker currently living in a tiny thatched cottage in Cambridge, UK. Originally from Yorkshire, she studied Literature at The University of Edinburgh. Deciding to combine her love of stories with her lifelong love of drawing, she went to Cambridge School of Art to do the MA in Children's Book Illustration, where she began to learn the art of printmaking. Beth Waters is an author, illustrator and printmaker currently living in a tiny thatched cottage in Cambridge, UK. Originally from Yorkshire, she studied Literature at The University of Edinburgh. Deciding to combine her love of stories with her lifelong love of drawing, she went to Cambridge School of Art to do the MA in Children's Book Illustration, where she began to learn the art of printmaking.
