Author(s): Katya Balen

Senior Fiction | Dyslexia-friendly

 After a devastating car crash, Annie is unable to play her flute and retreats from the music she's always loved.

She exists in a world of angry silence - furious with her mum and furious she can't seem to play her beloved flute any more.

Then she meets Noah, who shows her the blackbirds' nest hidden in the scrubland near their flats. As their friendship grows, the blackbird's glorious song reignites Anna's passion for music. But when tragedy strikes again, will her fragile progress be put at risk?

This book has a dyslexia-friendly layout, typeface and paperstock so that even more readers can enjoy it. It has been edited to a reading age of 8.

Review:
"Word perfect. Note perfect" -- Phil Earle
"Made me cry ... Beautiful" -- Jackie Morris
"In the same way a great piece of music or an especially stirring sequence in film can overwhelm you, Birdsong fills you to the brim and threatens to spill over ... Utterly singular and a triumph" -- Just Imagine
"A perfectly structured novella" -- Waterstones
"This is a book to dwell in, letting the story wash over you and settle your soul ... Katya Balen and Barrington Stoke is a wonderful combination" -- Kate Heap, Scope for the Imagination

Prizes: Nominated for Carnegie Medal for Writing 2023.

Author Biography: Katya Balen is a rising star in children's publishing in the UK. Her first book,The Space We're In, was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award, whileOctober, Octoberwas described by the Times as "a future wild classic".