Island

Wreathed in Inuit legends, this is a story of man's arrogance as an explorer, of how he assumes the land and its treasures he "discovers" are his and how he plunders it without thought of consequences.Cameron, aged 15, is taken by his research scientist mother on her annual trip to measure the land slip on Herschel Island, an uninhabited small piece of land created by glacial sediments in the Beaufort Sea. It is a harsh Arctic environment and Cameron, away from his usual technology and ignored by his mother, finds himself being drawn to Inuluk, an Inuit girl he meets out walking one day. Inuluk tells him the stories of her people and Cameron finds himself drawn into another world, where whales are destroyed by drilling and snow storms chill him to the bone. But are these dreams or reality - and why doesn't his mother ever see Inuluk?Mesmerising, evocative and filled with wonderful Inuit words (which no doubt I am pronouncing completely wrong in my head) as well as superb drawings by Chris Riddell which bring the characters to life, Island is a book that will linger with you and cause you to question man's relationship with the natural world.

If it was possible to give this a million stars I would. This is the most beautiful book I have read in a long time, possibly ever. It is incredible, seems calm and magical but so full of wisdom. If every human being on the planet read this book, and truly, honestly kept this book in their hearts, the world would be a different place. "No one's an island, Cameron. You, your parents, London, Qikiqtaruk, the whales, guillemots, the living, the dead. We're all connected. If one moves, we all move". These words, and many others, have stayed with me. So simply and wonderfully written, heartbreaking and lovely. I would recommend it to everyone: children, young adults, adults of any age. Just amazing. Thankyou Nicky and Chris.

Clever ( and wonderfully illustrated) book for older children/young adults/me! A child, taken to the Arctic Circle for the summer due to a mix up with his father (who cannot take him this year)mhe has to spend the entire summer doing nothing whilst his mother conducts experiments. Who he meets, and what he discovers is the magic in this book.

An excellent read dealing with relationships between parents and their child but also with global warming . It really made me think about the impact we are having on the animals and the planet . Original and thought provoking. Illustrations beautiful and good references for further information on an important subject .

Gorgeous book. Draws you right into its world. A beautiful coming of age story, a gentle exploration about teenage/parent relationships, and a passionate plea against the devastation of the environment. And the pictures are gorgeous.

gifted to a young boy

My daughter loves this book, she heard about it at school so we had to get it and I'm so glad we did.

Fantastic read... looking forward to using it with my class next year.