Julia and the Shark

A captivating, powerful and luminous story from a bestselling, award-winning author about a mother, a daughter, and the great Greenland shark. With mesmerising black and yellow illustrations and presented as a deluxe hardback with tracing paper inserts, this is a perfect gift for 9+ fans of David Almond and Frances Hardinge.

'Such rich and vivid prose ... with beautiful illustrations by Tom de Freston' New York Times

'Tom de Freston's stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story' Cressida Cowell

'A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!' Jacqueline Wilson

'Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars - a classic from cover to cover' Eoin Colfer

'A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light' Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs

The shark was beneath my bed, growing large as the room, large as the lighthouse, rising from unfathomable depths until it ripped the whole island from its roots. The bed was a boat, the shark a tide, and it pulled me so far out to sea I was only a speck, a spot, a mote, a dying star in an unending sky...

Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer - her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother's obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope...

A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love - with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment.

“A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!”

Captivating The Telegraph
A tale of courage, understanding and compassion The Observer
A triumph The Daily Mail
Illustrated with dreamlike fluency The Observer
Beautifully written, sensitive exploration of mental illness, fear and families The Daily Mail
Jacqueline Wilson
Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover. Eoin Colfer
There are no wasted words in this book. Like a seashell, or a flying bird, it is uncluttered and vital. The illustrations, by Tom de Freston, are mesmerising. I loved it. Hilary McKay
Tom de Freston's stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story Cressida Cowell
A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs
What a gorgeous book - calm, funny, heartfelt, wise, full of the quiet and force of the sea Ross Montgomery, author of The Midnight Guardians
I fell in love with the tale itself, the setting (I do love a lighthouse!), the characters and the little details - it's a beautiful, forceful storm of a book Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse
INCREDIBLE. Poignant and lyrical and beautiful, it's my favourite of Kiran's books so far and that is saying something. Tom's stunning artwork just brings it to a whole other level Cat Doyle
Truly extraordinary. Julia and the Shark is contemporary MG at its best but with a hint of the fantastic. It is the kind of book that you will want to have on your shelves and treasure Katherine Webber Tsang

A beautifully written, moving exploration of family, friendship and mental health, with exquisite illustrations by de Freston

Irish Independent
Such rich and vivid prose ... with beautiful illustrations by Tom de Freston New York Times
This beautifully illustrated book proves that picture books are not only for the youngest readers. The black and white sketches are deliberately highlighted with yellow accents that light up the pages in some places, and delicate tracing paper inserts make images shift when you turn them, emphasising the lurking shark. This is a powerful story of love, family and fighting to keep your head above water. NATE

Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning poet, playwright, and bestselling novelist. Her debut novel for children The Girl of Ink & Stars won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year. Her work has been short- and long-listed for other major prizes including the Costa Award, and the CILIP Carnegie Award. The Deathless Girls is her first novel for Young Adults. She's a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and lives by the river in Oxford with her husband and cat.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston met in 2009, when Kiran was a student and Tom was artist-in-residence at Cambridge University. They have been a couple and collaborators ever since, but Julia and the Shark is their first novel. Kiran is the award-winning, bestselling author of stories including The Girl of Ink & Stars, The Way Past Winter, and The Deathless Girls, and Tom is making his illustrative debut having worked as an acclaimed artist for many years. They live in Oxford with their rescue cat Luna, in a house between a river and a forest.

A captivating, powerful and luminous story from a bestselling, award-winning author about a mother, a daughter, and the great Greenland shark. With mesmerising black and yellow illustrations and presented as a deluxe hardback with tracing paper inserts, this is a perfect gift for 9+ fans of David Almond and Frances Hardinge. 'Tom de Freston's stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story' Cressida Cowell 'A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!' Jacqueline Wilson 'Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars - a classic from cover to cover' Eoin Colfer 'A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light' Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs The shark was beneath my bed, growing large as the room, large as the lighthouse, rising from unfathomable depths until it ripped the whole island from its roots. The bed was a boat, the shark a tide, and it pulled me so far out to sea I was only a speck, a spot, a mote, a dying star in an unending sky... Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer - her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother's obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope... A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love - with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.