Books

Julia and the Shark

An enthralling, uplifting adventure story from the creators of LEILA AND THE BLUE FOX

Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Author

Tom de Freston, Illustrator

Paperback
Hardback

Imprint: Orion Children's Books

Publication date: March 17, 2022

Category: Family & home stories (Children's / Teenage)

ISBN: 9781510107779

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Imprint: Orion Children's Books

Publication date: September 2, 2021

Category: Family & home stories (Children's / Teenage)

ISBN: 9781510107786

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A captivating, powerful and luminous story from a bestselling, award-winning author about a mother, a daughter and the great Greenland shark. Wrapped up in mesmerising illustrations and presented as a deluxe hardback, this is a perfect gift for the holiday season, for 9+ fans of Philip Pullman, Sally Gardner and Frances Hardinge.

The shark was beneath my bed, growing large as the room, large as the lighthouse, rising from unfathomable depths until it ripped the whole island from its roots. The bed was a boat, the shark a tide, and it pulled me so far out to sea I was only a speck, a spot, a mote, a dying star in an unending sky…

Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer – her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother’s obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope…

A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love – with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment.

Reviews

A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light

Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs

What a gorgeous book - calm, funny, heartfelt, wise, full of the quiet and force of the sea

Ross Montgomery, author of The Midnight Guardians

I fell in love with the tale itself, the setting (I do love a lighthouse!), the characters and the little details - it's a beautiful, forceful storm of a book

Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse

INCREDIBLE. Poignant and lyrical and beautiful, it's my favourite of Kiran's books so far and that is saying something. Tom's stunning artwork just brings it to a whole other level

Cat Doyle

Truly extraordinary. Julia and the Shark is contemporary MG at its best but with a hint of the fantastic. It is the kind of book that you will want to have on your shelves and treasure

Katherine Webber Tsang

A beautifully written, moving exploration of family, friendship and mental health, with exquisite illustrations by de Freston

Irish Independent

Such rich and vivid prose ... with beautiful illustrations by Tom de Freston

New York Times

This beautifully illustrated book proves that picture books are not only for the youngest readers. The black and white sketches are deliberately highlighted with yellow accents that light up the pages in some places, and delicate tracing paper inserts make images shift when you turn them, emphasising the lurking shark. This is a powerful story of love, family and fighting to keep your head above water.

NATE

A tale of courage, understanding and compassion

The Observer

A triumph

The Daily Mail

Illustrated with dreamlike fluency

The Observer

Beautifully written, sensitive exploration of mental illness, fear and families

The Daily Mail

A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!

Jacqueline Wilson

Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover.

Eoin Colfer

There are no wasted words in this book. Like a seashell, or a flying bird, it is uncluttered and vital. The illustrations, by Tom de Freston, are mesmerising. I loved it.

Hilary McKay

Tom de Freston's stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story

Cressida Cowell

Captivating

The Telegraph

Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning, bestselling novelist. Her debut story for children The Girl of Ink & Stars won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and the British Book Awards Children’s Book of the Year. Her work has been short- and long-listed for numerous major prizes including the Costa Award and the CILIP Carnegie Award, and her novel Julia and the Shark, illustrated by Tom de Freston, was shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize and named Waterstones Children’s Gift of the Year. She’s a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and lives in Oxford with her husband and cats, in a house between a river and a forest.

To get in touch about booking an event, please visit my website.

Tom de Freston

Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston met in 2009, when Kiran was a student and Tom was artist-in-residence at Cambridge University. They have been a couple and collaborators ever since, but Julia and the Shark is their first novel. Kiran is the award-winning, bestselling author of stories including The Girl of Ink & Stars, The Way Past Winter, and The Deathless Girls, and Tom is making his illustrative debut having worked as an acclaimed artist for many years. They live in Oxford with their rescue cat Luna, in a house between a river and a forest.

Related Resources

Julia and the Shark – Teaching Notes

Topic: Art, Climate change, Empathy, English, Growing up, Science

Age Range: 11-14, 7-11

Related Book: Julia and the Shark

Book Creator: Tom de Freston, Kiran Millwood Hargrave

A beautiful, lyrical story about a mother, a daughter, and love, from bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave with illustrations by Tom de Freston. Watch the author and illustrator video here, and download the accomanying certificates here.

Themes: Mental Health | Science | Environment | Family Relationships

Download Resource

Julia and the Shark – Poster