Books by David Almond

The dream team of David Almond and Dave McKean bring us a complete story set in an incomplete world.

A uniquely presented, touching tale of grief, solace and hope from a master of contemporary storytelling and a visionary artist.

“There was a wild kid living in Burgess Woods. He had no famly and he had no pals and he didn’t know where he come from and he couldn’t talk. His wepons wer old kitchen nives and forks and an ax. He was savage. He was truly wild.”Blue Bake’s at home with his mum and his little sister, Jess. He’s writing a story. Not all that stuff about wizards and happy ever after – a real story about blood and guts and trouble, because that’s what life’s really like. At least it is for Blue, since his Dad died, and Hopper the bully started knocking him about. But Blue’s story takes on a life of its own, weird and dangerous and wild. The savage that he creates on the page and in his dreams comes to life in the real world, and seems set on bringing chaos and revenge. Can Blue keep his creation under control? Can the savage even bring Blue and his family a kind of peace?David Almond’s own adaptation of his acclaimed graphic novel created with Dave McKean and published in translation around the world.

She made her marks.She whispered her words.Then she said,¿Go on. Be happy. Up you go."When Nanty Solo comes to town, she says she can turn children into birds. The parents are skeptical, but the children want to fly. And before very long, everyone does. A celebratory, lyrical story that will make your heart and imagination soar. Written by internationally acclaimed author David Almond and brought to life in glorious uplifting paintings by award-winning illustrator Laura Carlin.

The new stand-alone novel from David Almond - Bone Music is a timely masterpiece that explores the connections between the past and the present, between civilisation and wilderness. At its heart is the unforgettable Sylvia Carr, who moves from city to the forest and is 'rewilded'.

“Are me feet off the floor yet? Are me feet off the floor?” In a rainy town in the north of England, there are strange goings-on. Dad is building a pair of wings, eating flies, and feathering his nest. Auntie Doreen is getting cross and making dumplings. Mr Poop is parading the streets, shouting louder and louder, and even Mr Mint, the head teacher, is getting in a flap. And watching it all is Lizzie, missing her mam and looking after her dad and thinking how beautiful the birds are. What’s behind it all? It’s the Great Human Bird Competition, of course. Who will be the first to fly across the River Tyne?David Almond’s barmy, tender and funny tale about wings and faith, written for the Young Vic to accompany their production of Skellig. It has since been performed many times around the world, and also adapted by Almond into a much-loved, much-translated novel, with illustrations by Polly Dunbar.

A magical story about finding your identity from one of the most acclaimed storytellers of his generation, richly illustrated in full colour by an internationally renowned artist.My mother says that all things can be turned to tales. I thought she meant tales like fish tails, but I was wrong. She meant tales like this, tales that are stories. But this tale of mine is very like a fish tail too...Annie has never been like the other girls. Her mam tried sending her to school when she was small, but Annie couldn¿t seem to make words or numbers stick. She prefers instead to be swimming in the sea, or sunbathing on the shore at Stupor Beach, her head full of tales. She should have been a fish, her mam always tells her, and Annie knows the truth of it. Then a stranger who comes to town is struck by the beauty and the wonder of her, and Annie Lumsden realizes that perhaps she really is half a creature from the sea.

This is a moving, funny and inspirational novel from the bestselling author of Skellig. *Shortlisted for the 2018 Costa Book Awards.*

From the bestselling, award-winning author of SKELLIG comes a vivid and moving story, beautifully illustrated, which commemorates the hundred-year anniversary of the end of the First World War.

"That's reet, lad! Run! There's a wolf at your tail! Run for your lovely life!" A joyful, uplifting story of times gone by, from the internationally acclaimed author of Skellig.

A warm and witty tale from a master storyteller, author of Carnegie Medal-winning Skellig and internationally bestseller The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas

Winner of the Guardian children's book prize 2015I'm the one who's left behind. I'm the one to tell the tale. I knew them both... knew how they lived and how they died. Claire is Ella Grey's best friend. She's there when the whirlwind arrives on the scene: catapulted into a North East landscape of gutted shipyards; of high arched bridges and ancient collapsed mines. She witnesses a love so dramatic it is as if her best friend has been captured and taken from her. But the loss of her friend to the arms of Orpheus is nothing compared to the loss she feels when Ella is taken from the world. This is her story - as she bears witness to a love so complete; so sure, that not even death can prove final.

An anthology of dark, powerful and moving short stories from master storyteller David Almond, inspired by his childhood in the north-east of England.

The Tightrope Walkers by David Almond - a novel of young love and tragedy from the prizewinning author of Skellig'I was born in a hovel on the banks of the Tyne...'Dominic Hall grows up in the sixties on a brand-new estate, along with the other families who escaped the river. But the Tyne is still an overwhelming presence, and most of the fathers work in the shipyards. Dom is torn between his new mates: Holly Stroud, his enchanting neighbour, and Vincent McAlinden, who's something else altogether - a wild, dangerous boy with murderous instincts. After his mother's death, Dom has to decide who he is, what he wants to be - and then face up to the consequences.Deeply moving with a unique narrative voice, The Tightrope Walkers will be loved by fans of Roddy Doyle, Irvine Welsh and Ross Raisin, as well as readers familiar with David Almond's masterful novel The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean, and the hugely popular Skellig. 'Almond is a master storyteller' Independent'Not only dramatically and emotionally suspenseful, it is also vividly drawn and wonderfully well-paced, as we might expect from a master storyteller' John Burnside on THE TRUE TALE OF THE MONSTER BILLY DEAN, GuardianDavid Almond is the author of Skellig and other novels and plays for adults and children. He has won many prestigious awards including the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010, the Carnegie Medal and two Whitbreads. His first novel for adults, The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean was published in 2011.He was born in Newcastle, grew up on Tyneside and now lives with his family in Northumberland.

I wos a secrit shy and tungtied emptyheded thing.I wos tort to read and rite and spell by my tenda littl muther & by Mr McCaufrey the butcha & by Missus Malone and her gosts.So I am not cleva, so please forgiv my folts and my mistayks.I am the won that glares into your harts & that prowls insyde yor deepist dremes.Wonce I was The Anjel Childe. Now I am The Monster.Just read and lissen and take note. Let the words enter yor blud & boans.I am Billy Dean. This is the truth. This is my tale.

Joe has birthday money to spend, and decides a cute dog he's seen in a pet shop window is the perfect purchase. For some reason, though, the pet shop owner is determined not to sell that particular dog ... This wonderful story was written by Carnegie award-winning author David Almond, and brought to life with the illustrations of Ayesha Lopez.

There's an empty notebook lying on the table in the moonlight. It's been there for an age. I keep on saying that I'll write a journal. So I'll start right here, right now. I open the book and write the very first words: My name is Mina and I love the night. Then what shall I write? I can't just write that this happened then this happened then this happened to boring infinitum. I'll let my journal grow just like the mind does, just like a tree or a beast does, just like life does. Why should a book tell a tale in a dull straight line?And so Mina writes and writes in her notebook, and here is her journal, Mina's life in Mina's own words: her stories and dreams, experiences and thoughts, her scribblings and nonsense, poems and songs. Her vivid account of her vivid life.In this stunning book, David Almond revisits Mina before she has met Michael, before she has met Skellig.Shortlisted for the 2012 Carnegie Medal.

There he was, below the bridge, half-naked, eyes blazing. He had a pair of burning torches. He ran them back and forth across his skin. He sipped from a bottle, breathed across a torch, and fire and fumes leapt from his lips. The air was filled with the scent of paraffin. He breathed again, a great high spreading flag of fire. He glared. He roared like an animal.That summer, life had seemed perfect for Bobby Burns. But now it's autumn and the winds of change are blowing hard. Bobby's dad is mysteriously ill. His new school is a cold and cruel place. And worse: nuclear war may be about to start. But Bobby has a wonder-working friend called Ailsa Spink. And he's found the fire-eater, a devil called McNulty. What can they do together on Bobby's beach? Is it possible to work miracles? Will they be able to transform the world?A stunning novel from the author of the modern children's classic Skellig - winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

With fascination, Davie and his friend Geordie watch the arrival of a new boy, Stephen Rose, in their town. He seems to have come from nowhere, and when he arrives to live with his distant aunt, the local Crazy Mary, no one envies his new home. But perhaps he's the answer to Davie and Geordie's prayers - a secret weapon in their war against monstrous Mouldy and his gang. Intrigued, Davie and Geordie befriend Stephen. But they are heading innocently down a path that brings with it a monster of an entirely unexpected nature. Their encounter with the mysterious Stephen is as incredible as it is menacing, and as the true story of Stephen's past slowly emerges, Davie's life is changed for ever...A stunning novel from the author of the modern children's classic Skellig - winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

Erin, January and Mouse live in a children's home, Whitegates. They often dream of escape, and frequently journey into the outside world. Running away is something they know all about. But this time January builds a raft, and the three of them head precariously down river. Towards the Black Middens. This time they might never come back. When they stumble across a disused factory and its strange inhabitants - Grampa and Heaven Eyes - they wonder if they'll even have the choice. Heaven Eyes is the girl who should have drowned at sea. The mysterious girl desperately searching for her family, hoping that these three might be the family she has lost. She has a secret history only Grampa knows. And does he trust these three invaders enough to tell them? Erin feels a sisterly responsibility for Heaven Eyes, Mouse longs to belong anywhere and anyhow, but January thinks Grampa's a murderer. Whatever happens, all three have a part to play. . .A stunning novel from the author of the modern children's classic Skellig - winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.