ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This is a retelling of an old Grimm's fairy tale, with Julia Sarda's illustrations in a limited palette of ochre, brown and green reminiscent of old woodcuts. A poor fisherman goes looking for an honest man to be his son's godfather, and eventually accepts Death's offer to stand as such. When Death gives the fisherman a christening gift which will bring him riches, it comes with a warning - and the time comes when the fisherman ignores what he's been told and tries to dissemble with old man Death... Exactly the sort of Grimm's tale I loved as a child, that shows the cost of dishonesty - but maybe I'd give it to an older child of 6-8 rather than a pre-schooler! Lindy
Sally Nicholls (Author) Sally Nicholls grew up in Stockton-on-Tees, and after school, travelled the world, working for a period at a Red Cross hospital in Japan. Sally's first novel, Ways to Live Forever, won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and she has been shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Costa Children's Book Award, and the Carnegie Medal, twice. She lives in Liverpool with her husband and two sons.Júlia Sardà (Illustrator) Júlia Sardà is an illustrator from Barcelona. After her studies, Júlia started working as colorist in a studio which made the editorial merchandising for Disney/Pixar and then moved on to freelancing two years later. Now focusing on children’s illustration, Júlia has had the chance to illustrate some incredible debut fiction and everlasting classics.
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This is a retelling of an old Grimm's fairy tale, with Julia Sarda's illustrations in a limited palette of ochre, brown and green reminiscent of old woodcuts. A poor fisherman goes looking for an honest man to be his son's godfather, and eventually accepts Death's offer to stand as such. When Death gives the fisherman a christening gift which will bring him riches, it comes with a warning - and the time comes when the fisherman ignores what he's been told and tries to dissemble with old man Death... Exactly the sort of Grimm's tale I loved as a child, that shows the cost of dishonesty - but maybe I'd give it to an older child of 6-8 rather than a pre-schooler! Lindy
"""Gloriously gothic"" * Guardian * ""an outstanding reworking of an old tale... Funny, thought-provoking, and elegantly illustrated by Júlia Sardà, this is a gem for 5+ and my picture book of the year"" * New Statesman, Picture Book of the Year * ""Nicholls’s skilful, sprightly retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairytale is enriched by Sardà’s superbly moody woodcut-style artwork"" * Financial Times, Best Books of 2023 * ""Visually stunning and deliciously macabre re-working of a Grimm fairy tale"" * LoveReading4Kids, Star Book * ""This haunting folktale has been reimagined for the twenty-first century with insight, verve and style... [with] striking and extraordinary artwork... A gripping and exhilarating read"" * Books for Keeps *"