An utterly stunning, powerful and unforgettable novella by the highly acclaimed and much missed Mal Peet. Featuring sensitive full colour illustrations by talented rising star, Emma Shoard. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 14+
When a man returns to his childhood home and visits the derelict tree house in which his father once chose to live, he recalls the past unravelling of his family, the unspoken strangeness of their lives, and the impact on his own adult life. Beautiful, sparse and insightful storytelling. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 14+
I love this wonderful book. How does Mal Peet do so much in such a short space? It's engrossing, haunting, beautifully written. - DAVID ALMOND; For some time now, Mal Peet has been the most elegant prose stylist in the world of young-adult fiction...one of the best novelists, full stop - ANTHONY MCGOWAN; It's likely to be the best children's book you will read this year ... Peet is a profound storyteller and this haunting, moving story - sensitively illustrated by Emma Shoard's atmospheric ink drawings - reminds us what riches he left behind and what treasures we are missing. THE TIMES (CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK)
Emma Shoard is an illustrator and printmaker who graduated in 2011 from Kingston University's Illustration & Animation course. She also works part-time as a bookseller for Daunt Books. Emma has twice been longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal for her work on Siobhan Dowd's The Pavee and the Buffer Girl and Mal Peet's The Family Tree.
Mal Peet was a multi-award-winning novelist best known for his young adult fiction, including Keeper, Tamar, and Exposure. His novels were nominated for and won several awards including the Carnegie Medal, the Branford Boase Award, and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. In 2017 his final novel Beck was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. Mal passed away in 2015.