The Sky Beneath the Stone: An evening with Alex Mullarky

*This event will be recorded & video sent out captioned after the fact, but not live-streamed. This is to reflect informal format & nature of the event so we get the best video!*

For many of us the wonder of books is seeded in our youth, those early myths and magic and the first time we see ourselves on the page that shape us as readers. As booksellers there is a special place in our hearts for children's books, and specifically those that spark wonder, which is why we can't WAIT to introduce you all to Alex Mullarky and her debut novel The Sky Beneath the Stone!!

An immersive and beautifully written fantasy adventure, The Sky Beneath the Stone is a soaring journey of family, friendship, overcoming fear — and realising that we are never as lost as we think we are.

As a special spring delight we'll be hosting this very magical evening in the bookshop's secret garden and we're espcially keen to welcome young readers and their grown ups! (The books is aimed at 8-12 year olds, but what's a number anyway, we loved it as adults too!)

Alex is going to tell us all about the book and how she wrote it and answer lots of questions, and if you're keen she'll even scribble in your books!

What's the book's actual story you ask? Well, let us tell ya!

Thirteen-year-old Ivy North is an adventurer. She can pitch a tent in four minutes flat, knows the local landscape like the back of her hand, and she's an expert map reader. There's just one problem.

She's afraid to go outside. But when her little brother is transformed into a kestrel by a powerful sorcerer, Ivy is the only one who can rescue him. Following him through a mysterious hole in the garden wall, she emerges in Underfell -- an enchanted realm that seems like the Lake District she knows, but is dangerously different.

Battling her dread of being out in the open, Ivy must gather all her courage to navigate a path across this extraordinary world, where powerful fairies with birds' wings fly through purple skies and a ghostly spectre haunts her every step. With the help of an unexpected new friend, can Ivy break the spell -- before her brother becomes a bird forever?