
Alone at school,
home is too quiet,
but in the dark – ghost animals!
Mum has more bad days than good as her PTSD worsens, unable to get out of bed or fix dinner for Nora. Dad left them in England years ago and works at a wildlife rescue far away in India. Sigh…
What’s that on the middle-schooler’s bed? A ghostly fox, shimmering edges like rainbows!
At school, the fox leads her to artistic Kwame who’s also bullied by Joel. Kwame and his brothers are on Nora’s street often to help with their granddad whose memory is failing.
Now a ghost hare appears, running zigzags, away from the bully, then back to attack when Joel mocks her mother’s illness – flight?fight! The school office calls in their parents…
Oh, no! Kwame’s granddad needs help! Mum’s paramedic training calms them all.
Ghost ravens? What are they trying to tell Nora?
As Nora And Kwame race to follow the raven, she spies a ghost otter in the canal, swimming toward the harbor!
Train, docks, boat, stormy skies – should they follow the otter to the island?
Nora and Mum insist that “everything’s fine, we’re fine, no help needed” but perhaps not…
How have you coped with the mental health concerns of others?
**kmm
Book info: The Night Animals / Sarah Ann Juckes; illustrated by Sharon King-Chai. Kane Miller/EDC, 2024. [author site https://www.sarahannjuckes.com/the-night-animals] [publisher site https://www.kanemiller.com/the-night-animals.html] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.