When the Sky Falls

Product Information

This is a beautifully written historical adventure story that will take readers on a very emotional and exciting journey. The pace is fast and the feelings run high. The reader ends up fighting for Joseph and Adonis all the way–and this book is almost impossible to put down. The historical details are brilliantly researched and the basic story of Adonis and what happened to other big wild animals in zoos during the war is based on real-life events. Brilliantly written and fast-paced, this is a superb book. Suitable for upper key stage two and key stage three. The end note shares the true story that inspired the book, which would make for a great classroom study or project. Highly recommended. I can absolutely see why the author felt so inspired by that image of a person in a zoo in the blitz, their duty to keep their gun trained on the most dangerous of the animals in case bombing allows the animal's escape. That image remains richly evocative in this book. But I don't think Earle quite nailed the elements to make this the most powerful exploration of that image it could be. When the Sky Falls is currently shortlisted for the To Carnegie Medal 2022 and, my oh my, I hope it wins. This book has everything that makes a children's book so deliciously enjoyable.

Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark... Mrs F. is the owner of a zoo and she takes Joseph to work with her. This is where Joseph meets the strong gorilla named Adonis. At first he wants nothing to do with the animal until the gorilla takes him under his protectionI liked the issues and themes dealt with in this book. Especially for a children's book, the issues were not sugar coated but presented for all age groups to understand which I liked. These issues could be easily understood through the character development and readability. The dyslexia representation was very good - it was interesting to see it through a child's perspective during the war and especially easy to feel Joseph's frustration as we know what he's talking about, but of course in the 1940's they didn’t. This further strengthened the emotion and understanding of themes in this book. The representation of war time was also great. Earle does a great job of bringing the past to light and keeping it accurate. But as well as revolving around the past this story also develops around the question ‘will they pull the trigger to kill Adonis?’. This question not only keeps a tense and exciting atmosphere but also reaches out to readers - I found myself questioning if I would do it - making it a more immersive experience. The characterisation in this book was really good. Each character has an easily recognisable strong personality and together they all contrast very well. This strong characterisation will definitely speak out to younger audiences and make this book popular. I especially like the pairing of Mrs F and Joseph - they are both stubborn yet vulnerable characters yet as the plot develops the unlikely pairing find a home in each other. Joseph was a very dislikable character to begin with, which made the book hard to get into as I couldn’t empathise with him. However, as Layers of his personality are peeled away throughout the book you begin to like him. That was part of a wider issue with the elements introduced as playing on Joseph's psyche never really cohering into a narrative. The dyslexia was underserved alongside the threads of Joseph's father, mother, and grandma. We didn't need resolution and catharsis on these threads but we did need a little development in each case if they were going to become a story rather than inert. I read this book very slowly to savour every chapter and emotional scene. It will most certainly be one of my favourite all time reads. This story was beautifully told with rich language that would be a great resource for Y5/6 writing. It would also make a fantastic class read where pupils can share the emotion and thrill of this story together.

Twelve-year-old Joseph has had it tough, not only is there a world war raging, his mum has died, his dad has been enlisted to fight, and now his Grandmother has sent him to London to stay with an old friend of hers after she struggled to cope with him, whilst other children were being evacuated out of the city. Oh wow! When the Sky Falls is the most emotional and exciting middle grade book that I have read this year! Take a moment to look at the front cover more closely. A fabulous illustration that gives you a peek at what lies inside that cover When the Sky Falls took into a part of WW2 that I haven't previously read about. We have read stories about life on the home front but this is a new angle looking at the struggles of a city zoo.

Phil Earle Press Reviews

By the time the ending inevitably imperils the zoo, I hadn't been given enough for the danger to the animals to resonate, or the threat they represent, the love Mrs. F has for it... Behind every anger hides deep-seated sadness and that's a big life lesson that Joseph needs to learn.