Asha & the Spirit Bird

By Author / Illustrator

Jasbinder Bilan

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Chicken House Ltd

ISBN

9781911490197

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

07-02-2019

Synopsis

Winner of the Costa Children's Book Award 2019Winner of the Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2017Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2020Longlisted for the Jhalak Prize 2019Chosen as one of the Guardian's Best Books of 2019 'This book is such a light-filled, huge-hearted delight of an adventure.' KATHERINE RUNDELL 'An evocative debut novel ... satisfyingly classic in feel' GUARDIAN 'A heartfelt and mystical children's adventure story.' TELEGRAPH Asha lives in the foothills of the Himalayas. Money is tight and she misses her papa who works in the city. When he suddenly stops sending his wages, a ruthless moneylender ransacks their home and her mother talks of leaving. From her den in the mango tree, Asha makes a pact with her best friend, Jeevan, to find her father and make things right. But the journey is dangerous: they must cross the world's highest mountains and face hunger, tiredness - even snow leopards. And yet, Asha has the unshakeable sense that the spirit bird of her grandmother - her nanijee - is watching over her ...

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Reviews

Asha and her family live in the foothills of the Himalayas. Surviving on wages her father sends from his factory job in the City, they manage their farm in his absence and yearn for him to return. But suddenly the money and Pa's letters stop arriving; and as the months go by Asha's desperate mother is forced to take out a loan she can never repay. With the threat of losing their beloved farm hanging over them, Asha and her best friend Jeevan, secretly hatch a plot to travel to the City and find her father. Strengthened by the mysterious presence of a magnificent Lamagia bird, which Asha takes to be a good omen for their journey, they set off on an arduous and dangerous trek across the mountains. When the bird re-appears at difficult moments, Asha senses that it is the spirit of her grandmother guiding them and believes that a magical connection to her ancestors will help them complete their mission. This is a spirited tale that takes the reader across mystical mountain terrain to the vibrant bustle of contemporary urban India. Wonderfully blending thrilling adventure, ancient mysticism, faith and friendship, there are so many things to enjoy in this enchanting debut novel. It would be an ideal read for fans of Jess Butterworth and Katherine Rundell and I sped through this fabulous book in a couple of sittings. I'm sure many middle-grade readers will do just the same! 288 pages / Ages 9+ / Reviewed by Clare Wilkins, school librarian.