Phil Earle introduces While the Storm Rages

Posted on Friday, June 10, 2022
Category: Authors Q&As

Phil Earle, author of When the Sky Falls, introduces his new WWII novel, While the Storm Rages, about a boy who sets out on an impossible mission to save family pets.  

In this video, Phil Earle answers questions about his writing, why this book is set at the start of WW2, what happens and what kinds of subjects he needed to research - including how canal locks work! - in order to write the book. He also tells us about his two main characters, Noah and Clem, and how they developed, and if any pets he has had have helped inspire Winn the dog, who has a starring role in the book.


Read a chapter from While the Storm Rages


While the Storm Rages (Andersen Press) is the eagerly awaited new novel from the bestselling author of When the Sky Falls: The Times Children's Book of the Year, winner of the Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Children's Fiction, winner of the British Book Award for Children's Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.


September 1939. The world is on the brink of war. As his dad marches off to fight, Noah makes him a promise, to keep their beloved family dog safe.  When the government advises people to have their pets put down in readiness for the chaos of war, hundreds of thousands of people do as they are told. But not Noah. He's not that sort of boy. With his two friends in tow, he goes on the run, to save his dog and as many animals as he can. No matter what.