LoveReading4Kids Says
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Award 2022 ages 11-14 | Shortlisted for CILIP Carnegie Medal 2021
Joseph Coehlo is a poet who has been in the situation of ‘the one to watch’ because he has been producing lots of wonderful work that has made an impact from picture books to teen reads. This is his most ground-breaking and powerful exploration of poetry as a form and as a story-telling medium to date.
Based on the legend of Daphne – she was a Naiad-nymph who was loved by the god Apollo who pursued her until she grew exhausted and called on Gaia for help. She was transformed into a laurel tree which Apollo then adopted as his sacred plant. This creates a clever and intriguing interweaving of the ancient legend with the reaction and feelings of a girl, also called Daphne, who is coping with the grief caused by the loss of her father. She turns to her phone for aid, and her local library as she tries to sort out the past and find a way to build connections again.
The verse is heart-breaking, powerful, totally involving, and engrossing to read. The layers of meaning enlighten the story in this rich poetic exploration – a tour de force – full of energy and a rich palette of language.
This is not to disregard the evocative and powerful illustrations from one of our most innovative and prize-winning illustrators to add stylish, edgy and thought-provoking illustrations. The whole package is an experience that will cause discussion and deep thought in every reader.
Tricia Adams
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The Girl Who Became a Tree A Story Told in Poems Synopsis
Daphne is unbearably sad and adrift. She feels the painful loss of her father acutely and seeks solace both in the security of her local library and the escape her phone screen provides by blocking out the world around her.
As Daphne tries to make sense of what has happened she recalls memories of shared times and stories past, and in facing the darkness she finds a way back from the tangle of fear and confusion, to feel connected once more with her friends and family.
The Girl Who Became a Tree sees Joseph Coelho deploy a wide variety of poetic forms with consummate skill in its narration of events. He seamlessly but searingly weaves together the ancient legend of Daphne, who was turned into a tree to avoid the attentions of the god Apollo, and a totally modern tale, mixing real-life and fantasy, in which a latter-day Daphne seeks her own freedom. This a heart-stoppingly imaginative story told in poems, at times bleak and even tragic, which is layered, rich and ultimately a tour de force of poetic skill and energy.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781913074074 |
| Publication date: |
3rd November 2022 |
| Author: |
Joseph Coelho |
| Illustrator: |
Kate Milner |
| Publisher: |
Otter-Barry Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
175 pages |
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Joseph Coelho Press Reviews
Heart-breaking, powerful, totally involving...a tour de force...full of energy and a rich palette of language. Evocative and powerful illustrations from one of our most innovative illustrators. -- Tricia Adams - LoveReading4Schools
A classic...the way Joseph has blended the modern with the mythic held me totally - I loved it. Absolutely loved it. That's what we have been waiting for. A great book...Not been so excited about a book for a long time. -- Pie Corbett
One of the best things I have read this year. The writing and illustration are sublime. -- Nikki Gamble - Just Imagine
Very special. Multi-layered, emotionally intense, beautifully illustrated and written by a poet at the top of his game...beautifully constructed...stayed with me long after reading. Absolutely superb. -- John Biddle
Mixing real life and fantasy, told in poems. So powerful...Tragic yet enlightening...I have a book hangover and know I will read it again and again! Wow! - Book Owl
It's almost impossible to articulate just how clever, moving and innovative this piece of work is. - The Literacy Tree
A beautiful verse tale of grief. Magical and mystical. It will stay in your heart for a long time. -- Jane Etheridge - Federation of Children's Book Groups
The author of Overheard in a Tower Block combines intense imaginative power with brilliant poetic technique in a multi-layered story of loss, hurt, deception, recognition and ultimate reconciliation. Milner's evocative art adds further depth. -- Fiona Noble - The Bookseller
The author skilfully reworks the legend of Daphne...into a bleak and emotional YA story of loss and loneliness full of powerful imagery. It is a thought-provoking book which merges fantasy and reality, inner and outer worlds, and urban and forest landscapes. It is an emotional and complex read, but those older readers who enter the forest with Daphne as she confronts the darkness inside will emerge with her into a more hopeful world. - Books for Keeps
I am full of praise for the inventive, tricksy, frightening and (sometimes) comforting aspects of this rich text. - nicktomjoe blog
Only page 1, but I'm already hooked on The Girl Who Became a Tree. -- SF Said - Twitter
Stunning. - magicfictionsincepotter blog
Absolutely wonderful. - Booktrust - Book of the Day
Multilayered, moving, mesmerising. -- Lovemybooks - Twitter
A beautiful new verse novel for teens. -- Seven Stories, The Centre for Children's Books
Heart-stoppingly powerful, a mesmerising exploration of grief and renewal. -- Andrea Reece - The Poetry Summit blog
Quite extraordinary. Sinewy, tough and challenging in the best ways. Ultimately transcendent. By far the best 'story in poems' I've ever read. -- Ben Harris - One to Read twitter
The most evocative poetry...stunning illustrations, a great match. -- Caroline Fielding - YLG London Committee Chair
A highly readable, imaginative tale with a positive message. Coelho's poems are succinct, thought-provoking and original. - The Independent 10 Best Kids' Poetry Books
About Joseph Coelho
Joseph Coelho is the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2022-2024, and an award-winning poet, playwright and writer. His first poetry collection, Werewolf Club Rules!, won the CLPE Children's Poetry Award in 2015, and he has been writing and performing ever since. His picture books include If All the World Were... illustrated by Allison Colpoys and Luna Loves Library Day illustrated by Fiona Lumbers. His poetry books for children include Overheard in a Tower Block illustrated by Kate Milner and A Year of Nature Poems illustrated by Kelly Louise Judd.
His ‘Story told in poems’, for age 12+, The Girl Who Became A Tree, was shortlisted for The 2021 Carnegie Medal and received a special mention from the Bologna Ragazzi Award 2021. His YA verse novel, The Boy Lost in the Maze, is longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Award for Writing 2024, has been chosen as an outstanding international book for The White Ravens collection 2023 and has also been nominated as an IBBY Honour Book for 2024.
He has written plays for the Polka Theatre, the Lyric, Hammersmith, and the Unicorn Theatre. He creates dynamic poetry theatre pieces for young people that he tours nationally. He also performs with the UK's top performance poetry organisation, Apples and Snakes, visiting venues across the UK. Joseph has been a guest poet in Cbeebies' Rhyme Rocket.
Originally from London, he now lives by the sea in Kent.
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