Sky Song

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Although the scene setting in the prologue is slightly dry, I was totally gripped from the opening paragraph of chapter one when we meet the first of our three child protagonists, Eska, trapped in the Ice Queen's music box. Skip forward to chapter two and we meet our second protagonist – the boy inventor, Flint, who is brave and determined despite the fact he doesn't fit with the warriors of the rest of his tribe. And, finally, a little further on, we meet my personal favourite of our threesome – Flint's younger sister, Blu, who, to use the author's own words, is different from everyone else in the Tribe … her eyes were smaller and sloping … [and] her words came out jumbled even though she was eight and should have known better. Add two animals – an eagle and a permanently hungry fox pup – and you have the most original and appealing collection of heroes.

I cannot recommend highly enough… a brilliant, heart-stopping, tear-inducing, soul-soaring adventure’ MG Leonard, author of Beetle BoyThe Ice Queen tilted her head and the sunlight flashed off her crown of snowflakes. “Work through the night, Slither. Get it done. To achieve immortality, I must steal every single voice in the kingdom before the midnight sun rises in two weeks’ time.” She paused. “Even your fiercest warriors have not been able to find the Fur and Feather children, but if I have Eska’s voice, I can use it to summon the tribes to Winterfang. Then I will tear the Sky Gods down from the heavens and all will surrender to me.” The other thing that makes this story very special is the way the adventure is used to convey some extremely powerful messages. The most obvious, and perhaps timely, is the importance of co-operation between the tribes. However, it is the more subtle messages that most drew me in – messages about friendship and hope and the fact that there are different types of bravery. I especially liked the way that author Abi Elphinstone, uses Flint's reactions to demonstrate that it is okay for boys to show emotion and to release this emotion through tears. There is, after all, nothing weak about the resourceful and steadfast Flint.

First broadcast online by BBC Cymru in March 2021 at GŴYL 2021 with guest vocalist Nadine Shah, Paraorchestra’s Death Songbook premiered live at Wales Millennium Centre with guest vocalist Gwenno as part of Llais on Saturday 29 October 2022. This was such a joyous project to happen amidst the gloom of January. I’d loved Nadine’s work since I heard Fool and she and I had spoken about doing something together for ages as had me and Charles who I had also greatly admired from afar. For this all to happen against the odds with those wonderful musicians from Paraorchestra, plus the talents of Adrian Utley and Seb Rochford, was just so lovely”Brett Anderson on Death Songbook 2021 About Llais: Abi volunteers for Beanstalk charity, is a patron for the brilliant Grimm & Co and is heavily involved in campaigning for Authors4Oceans. When she's not writing, Abi enjoys speaking in schools and travels the world looking for her next story. Her latest adventures include living with the Kazakh Eagle Hunters in Mongolia and dog-sledging across the Arctic. Eska is one of many prisoners of the Snow Queen, a villainous ruler who threatens peace in the kingdom of Erkenwald. Eska, with no memories of her past, only knows that she cannot allow the Snow Queen to take her voice, that it might be special in some way... Flint is a boy that creates magical inventions, much to his brother and tribes anger and discomfort. He sneaks into the Snow Queen's palace in an attempt to rescue his mother, yet ends up rescuing Eska instead... I really loved this, but just a little was in a bittersweet kind of way. I loved Shoshi's character, the way she's there for her family and her devotion to her cats and her determination to learn how to play the fiddle. I think I saw a lot of myself in Shoshi actually.I would definitely use it with an Upper KS2 class. I thought the story was exciting, and there are plenty of opportunities to look at setting and character descriptions. Another example would be the fictional story of Lyddie, who was sold off as a servant to pay her family’s debts. She dreamed of a day when the farm would be paid for, her father would return, and the family could live together and work on the farm again. Instead her family fell apart, her closest friends fell ill, and she lost the only people she could depend on. She watched the life she longed for crumble before her eyes after years of tedious work to achieve it. Yet the final words of her novel were filled with hope that she would determine her own destiny and never fear anyone. She would finally be independent, even if it meant letting go of the dreams that she knew now would never come to be. But that's only what powers a rip-roaring, fast-paced adventure with characters you can't help but root for. Eska is a strong heroine but faces doubts about her abilities, while Flint struggles to overcome his upbringing and learn to accept others (and himself).