posted on 26 Jun 2022

Birdsong by Katya Balen

This beautifully written and, at times, lyrical novella introduces us to the therapeutic qualities of music – whether it’s made by human instruments or by way of the natural world. It’s a touching story of coping with trauma and the way music can assist in healing - not just the physical scars of an accident but the mental ones too.

Annie and her mother have been in a devastating car accident and she now finds that she can no longer play her beloved flute. She had been expecting to go to Greengage Music School to continue a career in music before the accident and now the damage in her hand caused by the accident seems to have put an end to the dream.

But has it really? Is Annie’s problem really her damaged hand or actually in her mind?

A move of house with her mother leads Annie to meet Noah, a boy who seems to be acting strangely in some bushes close to the block of flats she is now living in. A bit of exploration reveals the reason behind the boy’s odd behaviour – he’s looking after and observing a family of blackbirds nesting in the bushes.

Slowly, Annie becomes involved in the project and begins to discover the magic of the bird’s behaviour and, more especially, their lovely songs that mimic the sounds of the world they live in.

Together Annie and Noah help the birds and, in doing so, Annie begins to regain her love for the music they sing and once again picks up her flute. Hesitatingly, but ultimately joyously, she discovers she can, after all, still play. And, as she observes the birds go through their own tragedy, she sees that they don’t stop singing and so she too must return to her first love.

With the support of Noah and her mother, Annie resolves to open up her application to music college and, once again, to look forward to the future. And, of course, it comes as no surprise that at her audition she plays her own composition that she’s entitled ‘Birdsong’.

The book is part of the ever excellent Barrington Stoke dyslexia-friendly range of reading and this one is aimed at readers aged 8+. The book is published in July of this year and can be ordered from your independent bookshop or directly from the publisher’s own website.

 

Terry Potter

June 2022