Lothian Children's Books
Lothian Children's Books
Lothian Children's Books
Subhi's imagination is as big as the ocean and wide as the sky, but his world is much smaller: he's spent his whole life in an immigration detention centre. THE BONE SPARROW is a powerful, heartbreaking, sometimes funny and ultimately uplifting hymn to freedom and love.
2017 ABIA Book of the Year for Older Children
Winner, Readings Young Adult Book Prize 2017
CBCA Honour Book 2017 - Older Readers
Shortlisted for the 2017 Prime Minister's Literary Awards
Shortlisted for the 2017 Queensland Literary Awards
Shortlisted for the 2017 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards
Shortlisted for The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2016
Shortlisted for the Gold Inky Award 2017
Shortlisted for the 2017 CILIP Carnegie Medal
Carnegie Medal Amnesty CILIP Honour Book 2017
IBBY Australia Honour Book 2018
'A special book.' - Morris Gleitzman
Sometimes, at night, the dirt outside turns into a beautiful ocean. As red as the sun and as deep as the sky. I lie in my bed, Queeny's feet pushing up against my cheek, and listen to the waves lapping at the tent.
Subhi is a refugee. Born in an Australian permanent detention centre after his mother fled the violence of a distant homeland, life behind the fences is all he has ever known. But as he grows, his imagination gets bigger too, until it is bursting at the limits of his world. The Night Sea brings him gifts, the faraway whales sing to him, and the birds tell their stories.
The most vivid story of all, however, is the one that arrives one night in the form of Jimmie, a scruffy, impatient girl who appears from the other side of the wires, and brings a notebook written by the mother she lost. Unable to read it, she relies on Subhi to unravel her own family's love songs and tragedies.
Subhi and Jimmie might both find a way to freedom, as their tales unfold. But not until each of them has been braver than ever before.
'a tragic, beautifully crafted and wonderful book' - The Independent
a tragic, beautifully crafted and wonderful book - The Independent
Although Subhi is a fictional character, he represents the thousands of children and families denied refuge and placed within detention centres and incarcerated, his narrative instigating important conversations about human rights and the Australian refugee legislation. The conditions within the refugee compound are appalling. Inadequate basic necessities, dehumanised and often brutalised by government employed wardens. Their meagre possessions confiscated upon arrival. Mental and physical health deteriorate as families are segregated. Their voices left unheard. The Bone Sparrow is a conscientious and impassioned narrative of the abhorrent treatment and conditions asylum seekers face in Australia. Captivating and confronting
The Ones That Disappeared by Zana Fraillon
Zana Fraillon, author of THE BONE SPARROW, wins at ABIA Awards 2017
ABIA Awards 2017 Shortlist
ABIA Awards 2017 Longlist
Children’s Book Council of Australia Notables 2017
Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2017
In-house review ... The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
5 Minutes with ... Zana Fraillon
The Ones That Disappeared by Zana Fraillon
Zana Fraillon, author of THE BONE SPARROW, wins at ABIA Awards 2017
ABIA Awards 2017 Shortlist
ABIA Awards 2017 Longlist
Children’s Book Council of Australia Notables 2017
Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards 2017
In-house review ... The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon
5 Minutes with ... Zana Fraillon
Zana Fraillon (she/they) is an internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning author of books for children and young adults.
Zana's books have won the Amnesty CILIP Honour Award, the ABIA Book of the Year for Older Children, the Readings YA Prize, NSW Premier's Literary Awards and the CBCA Honour Book Award. The Bone Sparrow was chosen as the biennial book to represent Australia for the International Board on Books for Young People.
Zana was born and lives in Naarm (Melbourne), but spent her early childhood in San Francisco. She has degrees in history and teaching and is undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing at La Trobe University.