Leila and the Blue Fox: An enthralling, uplifting adventure story from the creators of JULIA AND THE SHARK

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Then Miso and Leila’s worlds meet, in an icy, treacherous environment, and Leila needs to make a brave, dangerous decision. Based on the true story of an Arctic fox who walked from Norway to Canada inseventy-six days, a distance of two thousand miles, this compelling, emotionaland beautifully illustrated story is the perfect gift for 9+ readers. About This Edition ISBN: Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover' Eoin Colfer

This is another fabulous story from the mind of Kiran Millwood Hargrave and stunning illustrations by Tom de Freston. I loved Julia and the Shark, their first collaboration and was, very excited to learn of Leila and the Blue Fox. It didn't disappoint in any way. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who loves books about nature and our environment. It is a fantastic read, which brought a tear to my eye, and will leave me talking about it until the author and illustrator release their next wonderful book together. A massive five stars from me!Kiran Millwood Hargrave was born in Surrey in 1990, and her earliest ambition was to be a cat, closely followed by a cat-owner or the first woman on Mars. She has achieved only one of these things, but discovered that being a writer lets you imagine whatever you want. Similar to the protagonist in Millwood Hargrave and Freston’s first book, Julia and the Shark, Leila has a complex relationship with her mother. Both mothers are scientists absorbed in their work and both daughters struggle to connect to them. Leila is, however, frustrated as she feels she is not her mother’s priority, her work is. Yet ‘all the anger fades for a moment and there is only this: it feels so good to be held by her mother.’ The reader then witnesses a healing journey across the Arctic continent – healing for all involved – and the themes of not giving up hope and finding love become clear. The Plot: We follow a girl with a beautiful name, Leila. The upcoming summer promises to be pretty exciting and extraordinary. But Leila can’t imagine that all the adventures will go beyond her expectations. Together with her mom and the crew of other scientists, the girl sets off for an engaging, challenging, and dangerous trip. On the trip, Leila is about to meet her friend – fox, who has much in common with the girl. The fox will leave a deep trace in Leila’s deep and kind soul and become a symbol of more valuable things.

This is an extraordinary book – wild and beautiful and perfect. The mess and tangle of humanity is so brilliantly contrasted with the wild spirit of nature’ Katya Balen Around this time last year, I had the pleasure of reviewing Julia and the Shark; the first collaborative efford of Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston. It combined Kiran’s powerful storytelling with Tom’s beautiful monochromatic illustrations with a single accent colour to create one of the best and most memorable middle-grade novels I’ve read recently. I remember thinking; I wouldn’t mind if the would make this a “brand”. Well, my wish was answered with this spiritual sequel, about to release on October 13th. A captivating tale that glistens with wonder. Leila and Fox will always have a home in my heart’ Sophie Anderson Fox is walking, endlessly walking, searching for food. Meanwhile, Leila is travelling to Norway to see her mother, whom she hasn’t seen for six years. She’s trying not to remember another journey she’s made, years before, from Damascus to the UK. Now it’s summer in the Arctic Circle and the bright, endless sun threatens to shine a light on the awkwardness between Leila and her mum. Two fragile worlds running in parallel. Leila travelling to Norway to reunite with her mother while Miso, a blue fox, journeys across a continent.

Fox wakes, and begins to walk. She crosses ice and snow, over mountains and across frozen oceans, encountering bears and birds beneath the endless daylight of an Arctic summer, navigating a world that is vast, wild and wondrous. Perfect for upper primary children, this is a moving story, based on true events, with many thrilling moments of danger and adventure. The Arctic landscape is brought to life vividly in dazzling prose and stunning blue artwork. The need for both animals and people to migrate is explored in a thoughtful, sensitive way, as is the mother/daughter relationship. A real triumph. Orion) Leila and the Blue Fox is a sort of sequel to Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston’s Julia and the Shark. This was highly praised by Bookwagon and many others and was an all-round success. Leila is a stand-alone story, but builds on all the elements that made Julia so superb.

Climate change is manipulating their behaviour and dwindling sea ice will limit the range of these beautiful creature, risking populations becoming geographically and genetically isolated. Meanwhile, Leila embarks on a journey of her own - finding her way to the mother who left her. On a breathtaking journey across the sea, Leila rediscovers herself and the mother she thought she'd lost, with help from a determined little fox.

LoveReading4Kids Says

Leila and her Mum fled fighting in Damascus . Upon arriving in the UK, Leila was left in the care of her Aunt and Cousin while her Mum took employment in Norway conducting scientific research.

A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!’ Jacqueline Wilson Leila and the Blue Fox is an easy recommendation for me; if you’ve read and loved Julia and the Shark, you’ll be sure to love Leila’s story aswell. If you haven’t read Julia yet, but enjoy the same brand of hard-hitting middle-grade that transcends age-range as I do; I guess you have two beautiful books to add to your TBR instead of one.Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover’ Eoin Colfer It is a kind, touching, heart-squeezing, and heartwarming book for young minds, animal lovers, and those who want to improve this world. Come with an Arctic fox on a breathtaking journey … an enthralling story from the bestselling, award-winning creators of Julia and the Shark. This is a perfect gift for 9+ fans of The Last Bear and A Wolf Called Wander. Based on the true story of an Arctic fox who walked from Norway to Canada in seventy-six days, a distance of two thousand miles, this compelling, emotional and beautifully illustrated story is the perfect gift for 9+ readers. Leila and the Blue Fox is a complete standalone story, but takes all the elements that made Julia so great, and builts upon it. Again, we have a layered tale of a young protagonist dealing with a tough personal situation at home, parallelled with a story of our natural world and one of the endangered animals within it. Again, we have stunning (equally layered) illustrations with the single accent-colour, to bring the story and atmosphere to life. And again; all these elements together add up to more than the sum of its parts, and make an impactful story about a potentially difficult topic approachable to young readers and adults alike. This time, instead of themes of mental health like in Julia’s story, Leila takes on migration; both natural- and human alike.