When the Sky Falls
The bestselling wartime animal tale inspired by a true story
Author: Phil Earle Series: Historical Animal Stories
Inspired by a true story from World War II. Joseph must make a terrible choice when he is left alone to guard a silverback gorilla's cage in a deserted zoo.
Paperback
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Summary
Inspired by a true story from World War II. Joseph must make a terrible choice when he is left alone to guard a silverback gorilla's cage in a deserted zoo.
Description
It’s 1940, and Joseph has been packed off to stay with Mrs F, a gruff woman with no great fondness for children. To Joseph’s amazement, she owns the rundown city zoo where Joseph meets Adonis, a huge silverback gorilla. Adonis is ferociously strong and dangerous, but Joseph finds he has an affinity with the lonely beast. But when the bombs begin to fall, it is up to Joseph to guard Adonis’s cage should it be damaged by a blast. Will Joseph be ready to pull the trigger if it comes to it?
- Ideal for lovers of classic wartime stories such as Goodnight Mister Tom, Carrie's War and War Horse
- Phil Earle's children's and YA fiction has been widely acclaimed. He is the winner of the We Read Book Award and was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal
- 'Complex, dark, intense and mysterious, When the Sky Falls is an astounding work of fiction' Antony McGowan
Critic Reviews
"A magnificent story … It deserves every prize going" -- Philip Pullman
"It’s a wonderful story of hurt, kindness and what it means to be human in an inhumane world" -- Children's Book of the Year The Times
"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
"Very moving. I almost never cry at books - but this one had me in tears by the end" -- Jacqueline Wilson
"A raw, heartfelt tale in the tradition of Goodnight Mister Tom" Sunday Times
About the Author
As a child Phil Earle harboured dreams of becoming a professional footballer, only for his career to be ended by an addiction to Frazzles, as well as an all-round lack of ability. Instead, at the age of 26, he got a job in a bookshop and fell in love with children’s fiction. Eighteen years on, he is the author of fifteen novels, and delights in unearthing stories from everyday, innocuous events. He lives with his three children, on the side of a very steep hill in West Yorkshire.
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