Description

Winner of the British Book Award for Children’s Fiction Book of the Year
Winner of the Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Children’s Fiction
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal
The Times Children’s Book of the Year

‘A magnificent story … It deserves every prize going’ Philip Pullman

‘An extraordinary story with historical and family truth at its heart, that tells us as much about the present as the past. Deeply felt, movingly written, a remarkable achievement’ Michael Morpurgo

1941. War is raging. And one angry boy has been sent to the city, where bombers rule the skies. There, Joseph will live with Mrs F, a gruff woman with no fondness for children. Her only loves are the rundown zoo she owns and its mighty silverback gorilla, Adonis. As the weeks pass, bonds deepen and secrets are revealed, but if the bombers set Adonis rampaging free, will either of them be able to end the life of the one thing they truly love?

Inspired by a true story.

Publisher Review

“An extraordinary story with historical and family truth at its heart, that tells us as much about the present as the past. Deeply felt, movingly written, a remarkable achievement” — Michael Morpurgo “Utterly brilliant, original and so very, very moving… a triumph for kids’ lit” — Sarah Crossan “A beautiful and majestic piece of work… Manages to be raw and gentle, harrowing and uplifting, all while racing inexorably towards its unforgettable end. Wow. Children’s literature at its best” — Jonathan Stroud “Complex, dark, intense and mysterious, When the Sky Falls is an astounding work of fiction. The characters have the knotty awkwardness of real people, and the whole book has that unfakeable feeling of Truth. Earle takes us to some very dark places in this novel, but at the end he brings us back to the light. For years now Earle has been one of our finest writers for young people and here he is at the height of his considerable powers” — Antony McGowan “Phil Earle writes from the heart: a story about love and friendship and how animals can connect people in the darkest of times and allow them to heal” — Gill Lewis