Silverwing Written by Kenneth Steven. Reviewed by Joshua, Age 12

This was a very moving book that helped reinforce the idea that nature is so important for all of us. In this book we meet ten-year-old Douglas who has recently lost his mother to cancer. The boy and his father haven’t been able to communicate since her death, and the house is a place of great sadness. One day Douglas finds an injured Greylag goose and so begins their mission to nurse the bird back to health and repair the bond between Douglas and his Father.

My favourite part of the book was when Douglas and his father went holly picking at Christmas and they saw 3 deer just standing there. The author described the moment so well it felt like I was there with them. I liked this scene because I can imagine it happening to me in real life.

Another aspect I enjoyed was the diary entries from when Douglas’s mum was a child because it was similar to what Douglas was going through and gave him strength and a connection to his mum during his grief.

Kenneth Stevens has described all the characters so well that I can get a mental image of them. The bullies were horrible and nasty, Douglas seemed small and weak in comparison but when he was with Silverwing, the goose, his true character shone through and he was caring and confident.

This book took me a few days to read but the way the text was laid out was very clear. I liked that the book had illustrations because it helped me to visualise the setting. It was a sad story because of Douglas’s mothers death but it was great that Douglas and his father found a way to connect and cope during their grief. Despite all the sadness the main message I took away from the book was how important nature is for all of us.