Age Range: KS2
Themes: Discovering who you are & what matters
Publisher: Corgi Books, Penguin Random House UK
Published: 2017
ISBN Number: 978-0-552-574303-3
Break Down: 283 pages, split into 40 chapters varying between ? and ? pages of text in length.
Blurb: My name is Crow. When I was a baby,
someone tied me into an old boat and pushed me out to sea.
Crow washed up on a tiny, windswept island when she was just a few hours old, with 3 things: a birthmark in the shape of a feather, a ruby ring and a sea-soaked letter, of which just a few cryptic words remain.
But it is only when a mysterious fire appears across the water that Crow starts to wonder who she really is, and sets out on an unforgettable treasure hunt – one that will show her what it truly means to be a family.
Crow washed up on a tiny, windswept island when she was just a few hours old, with 3 things: a birthmark in the shape of a feather, a ruby ring and a sea-soaked letter, of which just a few cryptic words remain.
But it is only when a mysterious fire appears across the water that Crow starts to wonder who she really is, and sets out on an unforgettable treasure hunt – one that will show her what it truly means to be a family.
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. There were parts of it I thought
I had guessed as the story went along but always little twists and turns that I
hadn't spotted. This book had me glued as I shared in Crow, Osh and Miss
Maggie's journey. Very well written and as a reader I felt a certain degree of
attachment to Crow, desperately wanting her to find the answers she was
seeking.
A beautiful and engaging story about a young girl, Crow, who
was washed ashore in a small boat - skiff, with no knowledge of where she came
from or who her family were. Over the course of the book she learns more about
who her family might have been but even by the end does not have all the
answers she set out to find. I was sad for Crow not finding that long lost
family member however I smiled at her realisation that family isn't necessarily
those we are related to but instead those we care for/who care about us and we
share our life with.
As a teacher I spotted lots of great themes/ideas for
discussion with children - I would recommend Year 6 (UK) or a mature Year 5
class. I think any younger and they will not understand the themes running
through the story. Certainly a book I will be recommending to pupils and
colleagues. I think there is also plenty of scope for children to compare to
other novels with similar themes e.g. The island at the end of everything by
Kiran Millwood Hargrave or Just Call me Spaghetti Hoop Boy by Lara Williamson
(the first where people with leprosy are sent to an island and the second where
the main character is adopted and wants to find out more about himself by
finding out about his 'real' family).
STOP READING HERE TO AVOID SPOLIERS
Brief synopsis (for those teachers/parents who don't have time to read it - SPOILERS!):
- Crow washes up on a small island, in a small boat as a baby and is cared for by Osh.
- Osh and Crow live away from the other islanders, however Miss Maggie lives nearby and is friends with Osh and Crow.
- Crow starts to ask questions about: Where she came from; what her real name is; why people never go to the island called Penikese.
- Penikese is an island where people who were infected with leprosy were sent - now it is a bird sanctuary.
- Crow notices a fire on Penikese and suspecting she came from there wants to go to the island. Osh, Miss Maggie and Crow go to the island.
- The visit raises many questions to which Miss Maggie and Crow try to find the answers.
- Crow exchanges letters with the doctor who worked on Penikese island.
- Crow makes contact with nurse Evelyn, who also worked on Penikese - she tells Crow about a baby she put in a boat and treasures left by her mother.
- Osh, Miss Maggie and Crow return to the island and find the bird keeper tied up in the old hospital. They rescue the bird keeper.
- Crow thinks she may have a brother and the police investigate the bird keepers kidnap.
- Crow goes to the mainland to try and find information about her brother from the orphanage. The orphanage is closed but she meets a Mrs Pelham, a nurse who knew her brother.
- After spotting the man (Mr Kendall) who held the bird keeper captive, Crow returns home.
- Nurse Evelyn writes back to Crow and she finds out about her family.
- People hear about Mr Kendall digging on Penikese for treasure and flock to the island to dig their own holes in search.
- When people give up and the island is empty again, Osh, Miss Maggie and Crow return to the island find the treasure Crows parents left - in the grave where people believed she had been buried as a baby.
- Crow looks out for the ship she believes her brother may be on.
- Mr Kendall comes to their island and breaks into Osh and Crows hut.
- Mr Kendall is caught and arrested.
- A storm breaks. The ship Crow has been looking is shipwrecked on the rocks around their island. A rescue mission begins. Crow helps rescue and care for a sailor whom she thinks is her brother. Mr Kendall has escaped from the mainland and tied up Osh and Miss Maggie.
- Crow outwits Mr Kendall and frees Osh and Miss Maggie.
- The sailor turns out not to be Crows brother. She retrieves the treasure she hid and distributes it to the orphanages and some to nurse Evelyn. She sets half aside for her brother should she ever find him and keeps some aside to keep her, Osh and Miss Maggie.
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