Song of the Dolphin Boy

By Author / Illustrator

Elizabeth Laird

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Pan Macmillan

ISBN

9781509828234

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

08-03-2018

Synopsis

Finn has always been different, and in the tiny fishing village of Stromhead he sticks out like a sore thumb. Always told to keep away from the water, he's felt that something was missing until one day he dives in and finds that, swimming with the dolphins, he feels completely at home.

But his new friends are in danger of being injured by the rubbish that floats out into the water - and now a supermarket is going to release thousands of balloons that could drift out to sea and cause even more damage. Desperate to help the dolphins, Finn goes to the Lighthouse Crew, a group of kids who have always left Finn out. Will they be able to set aside their differences to save the dolphins? And what will Finn discover about his past along the way?

A moving adventure about the impact of plastic pollution on our seas, and the campaigning power of friendship from the award-winning Elizabeth Laird, illustrated by Peter Bailey.

'Song of the Dolphin Boy is such a beautiful, important, heartfelt book. I loved every page' Lauren St John

'A lively and inspiring tale of village life and the dangers to wildlife of releasing balloons' The Sunday Times

Reviews

Finn lives in the little Scottish fishing village of Stromhead. His life is not an easy one. His mother is dead and his father is consumed by grief, allowing the family home to fall into disarray and Finn to be neglected, often adopting the role of carer himself. He is no happier in school: the other children see him as odd and treat him like an outsider. Things change when one day, Finn finds himself in the sea - and discovers that he can swim. Here he feels he belongs and connects with the dolphins, feeling at home in a way he never has before. As his friendship with the other children develops, Finn fights to save the dolphins and other sea creatures from plastic pollution. Elizabeth Laird manages to take highly topical and important issues and weave them effortlessly into compelling and thought-provoking stories. Song of the Dolphin Boy is first and foremost a story about Finn, an unhappy little boy, his feelings as an'outsider' and of loss - both of his mother and of the man is father used to be. The environmental theme of the story comes through his eyes and his experiences, making it easy to empathise with both Finn and the dolphins, clearly showing the dangers marine life is exposed to through human carelessness. Full of well-developed characters and vivid descriptions, the story mingles a twist on Scottish folklore with that of an 'outsider' searching for his place in the world 224 pages/ Ages 7+ / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher