LoveReading4Kids Says
LoveReading4Kids Says
June 2023 Book of the Month | Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 8
In her story of a boy who finds an injured nightjar and nurses it back to health, Katya Balen shows us a son and a father finding their way to a new understanding and a new, loving relationship.
Noah’s passion is birds and his sketches of them adorn the walls of his room in the flat he shares with his mum. His father, now based in loud, busy New York with a new partner and a kitten, doesn’t understand Noah at all and the two fall out spectacularly one night after a country walk and the discovery of the nightjar has highlighted their different attitudes to life. Taking Noah back to the woods, to release the now healed nightjar, opens his father’s eyes to different ways of living, and to the extraordinary young man his son has become.
The story is told with a poetic precision and, published by dyslexia specialists Barrington Stoke, will be accessible to all readers, its power and impact lying in the pared back telling and the truths it explores. Balen’s descriptions of the nightjar add an extra dimension and Richard Johnson’s accompanying illustrations are simply beautiful.
Andrea Reece
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About
Nightjar Synopsis
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?
A beautiful exploration of the complex relationship between a young boy and his distant father, touching on different types of families, conflicting beliefs and the healing power of nature.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781800901667 |
| Publication date: |
1st June 2023 |
| Author: |
Katya Balen |
| Illustrator: |
Richard Johnson |
| Publisher: |
Barrington Stoke Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
78 pages |
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Press Reviews
Katya Balen Press Reviews
Thoughtful, calm, beautiful and wise -- Ross Montgomery
A voice unlike any other, that pulls you through with its wonder and wisdom and leaves you utterly changed -- Struan Murray
A tender and lovely tale with teeth. Balen is one of our very best storytellers. -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave
There isn't another writer writing today who can say so much with so few words, nor a writer who says it so beautifully. Katya is a true original. -- Phil Earle
Finished Nightjar in one, breathless sitting. Another beautiful story that flutters in that complex space between joy and sadness, childhood and adolescence. -- Sarah Ann Juckes
Author
About Katya Balen
Katya Balen is an award-winning author of books for children. Katya's debut novel, The Space We’re In, was published in 2019 and was highly commended for the Branford Boase Award. Her second, October, October, won the Yoto Carnegie Medal. Her third novel, The Light in Everything, was published in 2022.
When she’s not writing books, Katya likes to scroll through dog-rescue websites, bake, and attempt to keep all her house plants alive. She lives in London with her partner and their dogs Raffi and Mouse.
More About Katya Balen
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