Nightjar — Katya Balen

Carnegie Medal winner Katya Balen returns with a stunning tale about a fractured bond between father and son �" and the injured bird that helps to heal it.

Carnegie Medal winner Katya Balen returns with a stunning tale about a fractured bond between father and son �" and the injured bird that helps to heal it.

When Noah's dad visits from New York, he and Noah come across an injured nightjar during a walk in the countryside. Noah is determined to save the bird, but his dad believes they should leave it alone to let nature take its course. As father and son argue, it becomes clear that Noah is angry about more than just the bird. He feels abandoned and misunderstood by his dad, who has moved to the US and started a new family there that doesn't seem to have room for Noah. Can they find a way to build a new relationship and rediscover the common ground between them?

Reviews

"Thoughtful, calm, beautiful and wise" �" Ross Montgomery

"A voice unlike any other, that pulls you through with its wonder and wisdom and leaves you utterly changed" �" Struan Murray

"A tender and lovely tale with teeth. Balen is one of our very best storytellers." �" Kiran Millwood Hargrave

"There isn't another writer writing today who can say so much with so few words, nor a writer who says it so beautifully. Katya is a true original." �" Phil Earle

"Finished Nightjar in one, breathless sitting. Another beautiful story that flutters in that complex space between joy and sadness, childhood and adolescence." �" Sarah Ann Juckes

"A lovely sensitive story about the rites of passage and what it means to take responsibility and to do the right thing … The prose flows so beautifully that it manages to take the reader into both Noah's and his father's worlds" �" The School Librarian

"Barrington Stoke have an innate ability to choose brilliant writers who totally connect with the readers. There is a gentle magic about this story which brings us closer to the natural world and which will enthral young readers." �" The English Association

About the author

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, while October, October, described by The Times as “a future wild classic”, won the 2022 Carnegie Medal.