“This luminous tale of loss, love and finding family
is threaded through with the power of storytelling, and a touch
of magic. ‘A giant of a little thing’, as Alberto
would say, The Boy, the Bird, & the Coffin Maker reads
like a classic.” Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author
of The Girl of Ink and Stars.
Alberto lives alone in the town of Allora, where fish fly out
of the sea and the houses shine like jewels.
He is a coffin maker, spending his quiet, solitary days creating
the final resting places of Allora’s people.
Until the day a mysterious boy and his magical bird arrive
– flying from danger and searching for a safe
haven.
Tito is fearful, suspicious of kindness, but as the winter days
grow colder and darker, Alberto’s home grows warmer and brighter.
Can Tito and his bird be sheltered from the town’s prying
eyes and the shadows of their past?
A story of life and death and of how hope can burn bright
in a place faded by sadness
A gem of a read: heart-breaking but ultimately life-affirming,
it celebrates small acts of gentleness and goodness.
Inclusive, thoughtful and a proper page-turner.
The lyrical, fairytale-like tone of the writing and the not-quite-real
setting give the story a timeless quality and the makings
of a modern classic.
This is Gabriel Garcia Marquez for children.
The magical realism of The Boy, the Bird, & the Coffin
Maker allows the author to tackle a difficult
subject in an accessible way, as Patrick Ness did in A
Monster Calls.
A stunning, standout package: printed endpapers and charming
full-page illustrations in every chapter make this a beautiful gift
Matilda Woods grew up in a small town near Canberra, Australia. She graduated from Monash University with a Master's of Social Work and now splits her time between writing middle-grade fiction and working as a youth social worker. She is the author of THE BOY, THE BIRD AND THE COFFIN MAKER, THE GIRL, THE CAT AND THE NAVIGATOR and THE GIRL WHO SAILED THE STAR
More about Matilda WoodsAnuska Allepuz studied Fine Arts at the University of Salamanca in Spain and the Academia di Belle Arti di Carrara in Italy, before undertaking postgraduate illustration courses at EINA, Barcelona and the Cambridge School of Art. A rising talent in the world of illustration, Anuska has been highly commended in the Macmillan Prize for Children's Illustration
More about Anuska Allepuz
