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

Product Information

Migration can be caused by war, famine, drought, tsunami, rejection, anything… as Leila’s mum says, “migration is necessary for survival.

Praise for Julia and the Shark:'A tale of courage, understanding and compassion' The Observer'Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true.This pocket-sized book presents the most essential poems in his dispensary: those which, again and again, have really shown themselves to work.

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. Similar to the protagonist in Millwood Hargrave and Freston’s first book, Julia and the Shark, Leila has a complex relationship with her mother. As already mentioned, in a previous review it does not quite get the five stars due to difficulty reading with some text over images.I really hope that there’s a sequel to this book, where Mum and Leila discuss their own journey from Damascus and grow back into their familiar closeness. Come with an Arctic fox on a breathtaking journey … an enthralling story from the bestselling, award-winning creators of Julia and the Shark. Leila has been living in London with her aunt and cousin since migrating to Englad from Syria, she is missing her mum so goes to visit her in Norway for the summer. Yet ‘all the anger fades for a moment and there is only this: it feels so good to be held by her mother.

The journey of Miso the Arctic fox is elegantly sprinkled through the pages of this captivating book. 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. They would also only drop off a case of books and leave us to run it – it was so lovely to have you on hand to chat to the children and recommend them books, as well as the small (but appreciated! The fox will leave a deep trace in Leila’s deep and kind soul and become a symbol of more valuable things.From the husband and wife team who created the award winning Julia and the Shark, comes another middle grade book in much the same style. 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. It’s a hugely impactful story that makes a potentially difficult topic approachable to young readers and adults alike. Their last conversation is very touching and shows the strain the modern world puts on traditional family relationships. 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.

I read this with my children - my 11 year old enjoyed it but my 9 year old found it too slow with not enough action or humour to keep him engaged. The landscape/seascape described both visually in the illustrations and verbally in the language enhance an exciting storyline.

Beautiful and moving, Leila and the Blue Fox delicately explores themes of migration, freedom and belonging, through a captivating tale that glistens with wonder. These poetic prescriptions and wise words of advice offer comfort, delight and inspiration for all; a space for reflection, and that precious realization - I'm not the only one who feels like this. Millwood Hargrave’s spare story telling allows the complications of both human and fox life to be revealed gently but with great truth. Yesterday a parent came over to tell me how impressed she was by the book fair and that you did a fabulous job of selling the books to the children first.