Swanfall

Every winter, Pip waits for the swanfall: the moment the great Arctic swans return from Siberia to the wetlands outside his cottage door. He knows every one of them by their markings. This December, three of them are missing. What follows is a mystery that leads somewhere much older and stranger than Pip expected, through a winter landscape that Sophie Kirtley makes so vivid you can feel the frost on your face while you read.

We love it because:

• The setting is extraordinary: a remote wetland cottage, frozen reeds, migrating swans, the particular quiet of a winter that feels both beautiful and slightly ominous. Children who love nature and atmosphere will be completely absorbed
• The mystery is genuinely compelling: a missing swan, an ancient curse that might not be a fairytale after all, and a boy who knows his landscape well enough to notice when something is wrong
• Sophie Kirtley writes with real warmth and a deep feeling for the natural world, the kind of writing that makes children want to go outside and look at things more carefully afterwards
• The cover alone is worth stopping for: that misty winter wetland, the swans in flight, the child with binoculars facing a world full of mystery

What's in the box:

• Paperback, 320 pages
• By Sophie Kirtley, published by Bloomsbury

Great for:

• Ages 8 and up
• A birthday gift, a Christmas present or the book you give a child who loves nature, mystery and stories set in the wild
• A wonderful read-aloud chapter book for a family who likes something atmospheric and absorbing in the evenings

Important to know:

• Paperback, 320 pages
• Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8cm (7.7 x 5 in)
• ISBN: 9781526642820
• Published November 2025