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WORK TITLE: The Boy Who Lost His Spark
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BIRTHDATE:
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CITY: London
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COUNTRY: United Kingdom
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LAST VOLUME: SATA 218
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in Italy; children: one son.
EDUCATION:Attended college; studied fine art in Milan, Italy, and earned a degree in photography at the London College of Printing.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Illustrator and designer. Freelance illustrator for clients including Crabtree, Puffin, Penguin, Running Press, Chronicle, Macmillan, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, BottleGreen, Artisan Biscuits, Guardian, Financial Times, and Radio Times.
AVOCATIONS:Photography, swing dance.
AWARDS:D&AD award, 2006.
WRITINGS
Contributor of illustrations to Oxford University Press readers, including Thrills and Chills, 2017, and Fantastic and Strange, 2017.
SIDELIGHTS
[open new]An Italian-born illustrator and designer, Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini favors detailed painting with ink and watercolor, sometimes incorporated into collage and mixed media. Growing up in a family with interests other than books, Terrazzini was unaware that one could make a career out of drawing pictures. She intended to focus on psychology and become a therapist, but she ended up studying fine art in Milan, Italy, and then photography in London, England, where she ended up settling. In her artwork she demonstrates expertise in naturalistic imagery as well as decorative design patterns. In the realm of children’s books, she has collaborated with authors including Sandra Markle, Jane Yolen, and Maggie O’Farrell, and several of her books feature fantastic and mythological creatures. Her independent projects include Botanicals, a booklet of black-and-white posters for coloring, and a pair of craft kits—My Miniature Library: 30 Tiny Books to Make, Read, and Treasure and My Fairy Library: Make a Magical World of Miniature Books—presenting classic fairy tales and encouraging creativity. Beyond the titles she has fully illustrated, Terrazzini has provided the cover artwork for various books, including an edition of Jane of Lantern Hill, by Lucy Maud Montgomery. She lives in South East London and has maintained a studio at the Bussey Building in Peckham.
One of Terrazzini’s first picture books was Markle’s Animals Marco Polo Saw: An Adventure on the Silk Road. Embarking for China with his father and uncle at age seventeen, Polo enjoyed abundant adventures in the Orient, home to plenty of fascinating fauna, over the next seventeen years. A Kirkus Reviews writer praised Terrazzini’s “attractive, detailed mixed-media illustrations, rendered in dark tones that reflect the dangers of the journey.” O’Farrell’s Where Snow Angels Go finds young Sylvie obsessing over an angel—the snow angel she made the previous winter, which visits her to warn of sickness and becomes her protector. A Kirkus Reviews writer affirmed that Terrazzini’s illustrations, deploying “line, color washes, and arresting perspectives, … deftly convey the realism of Sylvie’s world, the wonder of her snow angel,” and the “sweetness of their bond.”
Also written by O’Farrell is The Boy Who Lost His Spark, in which Jem has been stewing ever since his mother brought him and his little sister, Verity, away from friends and the familiar city to live in the countryside. Frustrating him all the more are strange occurrences, like chestnuts left in his shoes, clothing shredded, and so forth. Verity credits a “nouka,” one of the furry creatures said to inhabit the nearby volcano. Their mischief is inspired by unhappiness, and when Jem declares he does not believe in noukas, one focuses on him all the more—until bringing about a revelation. ForeWord reviewer Karen Rigby praised the “outstanding, cozy illustrations” and suggested that Jem’s “inevitable change of heart … is enchanting because of the expressive artwork, in which his feelings of astonishment register well.” A Kirkus Reviews writer proclaimed that Terrazzini’s “delicate watercolors illuminate the quiet beauty of the countryside, imbuing both Jem’s slowly dawning wonder and the nouka’s tiny world with magic and poignance.”[close new]
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
ForeWord, February 17, 2025, Karen Rigby, review of The Boy Who Lost His Spark.
Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2009, review of Animals Marco Polo Saw: An Adventure on the Silk Road; August 15, 2021, review of Where Snow Angels Go; January 15, 2025, review of The Boy Who Lost His Spark.
Publishers Weekly, September 23, 2024, review of When the Stammer Came to Stay, p. 52.
School Library Journal, August, 2009, Michele Sealander, review of Animals Marco Polo Saw, p. 91.
Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2011, Kathleen Beck, review of The Wikkeling, p. 178.
ONLINE
Amelia’s Magazine, https://ameliasmagazine.com/ (August 19, 2013), “Brahma Dreaming: An Interview with Illustrator Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini.”
Artworks website, https://www.theartworksinc.com/ (June 19, 2020), “Meet the Artists–Daniela Terrazzini.”
Mendola Artists website, https://mendolaart.com/ (August 6, 2025), author profile.
Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini joined The Artworks in 2005 and has been going from strength to strength. She first studied Fine Art in Milan. Inspired and encouraged greatly by the accomplished painter Claudio Olivieri, Daniela’s technique portrays mixed media, collage and sometimes computer-generated design.
Daniela moved to London from Italy in 1999 to study photography at The London College of Printing. She has managed to split her illustration work into two distinctive and equally successful styles of detailed paintings and graphic surface patterns. Since beginning her career as an illustrator with The Artworks, Daniela has worked extensively in many areas. The contemporary take on classic style has allowed Daniela to take on some very challenging picture books. “The Seeing Stick” published by Running Press and “The Animals Marco Polo Saw” published by Chronicle have attracted much industry acclaim.
Her work has an exquisite originality and quality that is beautiful and even haunting at times and we are very honoured to have represented her since the very beginning of her career.
Her clients have included: Crabtree, Puffin, Penguin, Running Press, Chronicle, Macmillan, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, BottleGreen, Artisan Biscuits, The Guardian, FT, Radio Times
19 June 2020
Meet the Artists – Daniela Terrazzini
Posted in: Artists, Artworks news, Children's books, Design, Editorial, Illustration, Meet the artist, Packaging, Painting, Publishing
Daniela Terrazzini’s work features bold, contemporary takes on classical styles; working across a variety of mediums, from watercolour and inks to digital design and collage mixed media. Central to her illustrations though is a clear dedication to draughtsmanship and a quiet, haunting quality that emerges from Daniela’s delicate line and muted colours.
Often featuring ethereal characters and elements, Daniela’s technique emphasises a dreamlike quality, with botanical motifs ever-present in her wistful images. She is equally comfortable creating images for book covers and editorial clients as well as creating graphic surface patterns and icons for branding. Her extensive talents have been employed by clients like Waitrose, Bottlegreen and Penguin Random House.
We spoke to Daniela about her least favourite part of work, This American Life and her interest in the human psyche…
Where do you live?
In South East London.
Where is your studio located?
The Bussey Building in Peckham.
Can you describe your creative process?
The first thing I do at the beginning of every job is a lot of visual research. I then take a deep breath and put the pencil on paper. This is, interestingly, my least favourite part of my work… Probably something to do with the fear of the blank page! Once the initial rough is approved my very favourite part can take place: the painting stage. This is mostly done on paper with watercolour or ink. But depending on the style and job requirement it can then be completed digitally.
What does a typical working day look like?
It starts with a cup of coffee and something sweet to eat whilst reading some non job related thing. I think you call that procrastination. Then depending on the stage I’m at with a particular commission, it can involve a mix of visual research and drawing or highly concentrated, intensely long, stretches of painting. Lots of podcasts and audiobooks and endless cups of tea.
Do you listen to music or the radio whilst you work? If so, what’s on your playlist?
This totally depends on what the task at hand is. I need silence during the “thinking” stage, when I need to start a drawing, or a painting and need to visualise and consider my direction. Once that is established and I’m happy with where it’s going then I can listen to music and/or words. I listen to a lot of vintage music; folk, swing, rock & roll and bluegrass. And lots of podcasts. This American Life is my absolute favourite podcast. I would have any of their producers over for dinner if I could!
How long have you been with the Artworks for?
Since the beginning of my career as an illustrator… about 15 years now.
What drew you to Artworks?
They have a great eye, a focused and keen dedication to their artists, but most important of all a very human approach to the business. I’m very lucky to be represented by them.
What books or programmes did you love as a child? Have they influenced your work in any way?
We didn’t actually read much in my family and the only visual influence I am aware of that dates back to my childhood is the book Faeries by Lee and Froud.
If you weren’t an artist, what would you be instead?
When I was growing up I had no idea one could draw for a living. And my interest then was to study psychology and become a therapist. I’m still keenly interested in understanding the human psyche but I’m glad I pursued drawing instead. I think it makes me happier than being a therapist would have.
What was the most important lesson you learned at Art School, if you went!
I studied fine art painting, and I would say the most valuable lesson I learnt was to think of painting as a personal journey of self discovery, expression and evolution. I think of my painting style as a visual equivalent of my handwriting… particular to me, when I manage to be true to myself, and ever evolving.
What inspires you the most to create?
Other creatives.
Name three artists that you admire.
A little hard to just choose three but I would say Lisbeth Zwerger, Gabrielle Vincent and Edmund Dulac.
What kind of commissions do you enjoy the most?
A variety of them… Some publishing ones I love because I find the story terribly evocative and resonant and because they will hopefully bring pleasure and inspiration to some children. Some design ones I love because I find them less emotionally demanding and I love losing myself in their aesthetic maze.
What would your dream commission be?
One that is either poignant or fun, that results in work I’m extremely proud of through a balance of great creative freedom and team work with a brilliant editor or creative director, and where I get paid well! Is that too much to ask?
Do you have any pets? If so, what and what are they called?
I have 2 lovely cats, Rosie and Ashi. But there is definitely a dog shaped empty space in my house!
What 5 things could you not live without?
My son; meaningful and positive relationships in all shapes and forms; a beautiful, bright and calm space to call my own; tea and cake; hot summers.
What is your very favourite meal?
A tasty one that’s been cooked for me by someone else.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
What is “spare time”? The rare times I get any… catching up with friends, sewing, watching movies, lying in the sun under some trees.
What is your current dream travel destination?
I’d love to explore Central America.
To see more of Daniela’s beautiful illustrations, click here.
Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini studied Fine Art in Milan, Italy. Inspired and encouraged greatly by the accomplished painter Claudio Olivieri, her technique portrays mixed media, collage and sometimes computer-generated design. Daniela moved to London from Italy in 1999 to study photography at The London College of Printing. Her contemporary take on classic style has allowed Daniela to take on some very challenging picture books. Her work has an exquisite originality and quality that is beautiful and even haunting at times.
Amelia’s Magazine | Brahma Dreaming: an interview with illustrator Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini
Brahma-Dreaming-illustration-by-Daniela-Jaglenka-Terrazzini-Sati
Italian born illustrator Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini has teamed up with polymath writer, lawyer, nature lover and publisher John Jackson for the second time to create a new book. Brahma Dreaming: Legends from Hindu Mythology, is sumptuously bound and my press copy came nestled in an imposing embossed black box. Inside, the Hindu myths of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu are retold alongside beautiful black ink illustrations that owe more to the style of Beardsley and Rackham than traditional Hindu artists. I look forward to reading this book to Snarfle once he grows old enough to appreciate it, but in the meantime it is the gorgeous handwritten type and Daniela’s imaginative reinterpretations of the tales that have me spellbound.
Brahma Dreaming 2013 -cover
You have a background in both fine art and photography – how did your illustration practice grow out of both these disciplines and do you still create in all mediums?
I sometimes wonder what exactly one gets taught at an illustration school and what the advantages/disadvantages of being self taught and coming from a different, albeit somewhat relevant, background might be. I think both my fine art and photography backgrounds have informed my illustration work, aesthetically and in the physical and mental process that accompanies it.
I haven’t been producing images that would traditionally be classified as ‘fine art’ for a while, but I still practice photography.
Brahma-Dreaming-illustration-by-Daniela-Jaglenka-Terrazzini The Lie
When did you discover your love of pen and ink and how long has it taken to fine tune your particular style?
My love for ink on the one hand and black and white work on the other was there since college. But in the commercial world of illustration it’s relatively rare to be commissioned for black ink work, so it is really only with Brahma Dreaming that I was able to fully explore it. I think my style for this book naturally stemmed, in part, from the decorative style that I’ve been developing for my design and packaging commissions. But in its full story telling form I fine tuned it as I went. There is a natural, although I think subtle, progression in the technical development of the illustrations in this book. Although I haven’t illustrated them in the book order, so it might be hard for someone other than me to see.
Brahma Dreaming 2013
What is it about the HIndu tales of this book that inspired you the most?
Each tale in the book has its own perfect balance of love, dramatic tension and wicked sense of humour. But in the end, it was the dark and surreal nature of the stories that inspired me the most.
Brahma-Dreaming-illustration-by-Daniela-Jaglenka-Terrazzini Uma
Sati is a good example of a story where I found plenty of inspiration. The story tells of the love between two underdogs; Sati a princess too meek and mousy to secure the love and respect of her father, and Shiva, the Lord of Destruction, a dark and unloved figure, with matted hair and his breath reminiscent of burning corpses. Sati chooses Shiva, in spite of her father’s vehement disapproval but we know it won’t end well, as in the next tale, under the unbearable burden of the fatherly rejection Sati will commit suicide. In the depiction of their union, I chose to convey both the tenderness of the two figures in their devotion to each other, as well as the ominous outcome of Sati‘s choice, which I tried to evoke by making the tiger skin Shiva is cloaked in tower menacingly over Sati, a little too alive for comfort.
Brahma-Dreaming-illustration-by-Daniela-Jaglenka-Terrazzini Rama & Sita
How did you first start working together with John Jackson, and what was the process of working with him on this project?
John found me through my agent and liked my work enough to trust me since the beginning to ‘do my thing’ and use my aesthetic judgement. In short, I was blessed to be given more creative freedom and trust that one normally gets at a relatively early stage of one’s career. As it happened, collaborating with John on Tales for Great Grandchildren was such an inspiring and enjoyable experience, that we went on to work on Brahma Dreaming together. Our work happens in fairly separate stages. John writes the stories and I then read them and visualise what my favourite way of representing them would be.
Brahma Dreaming 2013
Where do you live and where do you work? How do you set the perfect atmosphere in your studio?
I both live and work in East London. My studio is set around a cobbled courtyard surrounded by many other, glass fronted, studios, in which a lot of manual creative activity unfolds. It’s a beautifully inspiring place to work. My particular studio, which I share with two dear friends, is full of old bits of furniture and soft lighting. And smells of good tea, coffee and old wood.
Brahma Dreaming 2013 -title
When you are not drawing what do you like to do to relax and find inspiration?
I like to watch old movies, read interesting books and swing dance.
See more of Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini‘s artwork here. Brahma Dreaming: Legends from Hindu Mythology is published by JJ Books and is available to pre-order now.
Written by Amelia Gregory on Monday August 19th, 2013 2:46 pm
Markle, Sandra ANIMALS MARCO POLO SAW Chronicle (Children's) $16.99 May 1, 2009 ISBN: 978-0-8118-5051-3
In the late 13th century, 17-year-old Marco Polo set out for Cathay (China) with his father and uncle. They followed the legendary Silk Road to the palaces of the Kublai Khan, for whom they worked for 17 years before returning to Venice, where Polo later told his story. Markle describes his adventures chronologically for young readers. Most episodes are related on a single page opposite Terrazzini's attractive, detailed mixed-media illustrations, rendered in dark tones that reflect the dangers of the journey. A separate entry on each page includes information about an animal that Polo might have seen. In spite of the title, as with others in this series the animals are an addendum rather than the focus of the narrative. This attractive introduction to Polo's famous trip stumbles twice, misnaming the Khan's summer home and omitting from the map Polo's travels to India and return home. A fourth volume in the author's Explorers series, Animals Charles Darwin Saw (ISBN: 978-0-8118-5049-0, illustrated by Zina Saunders), appeared in February 2009 in conjunction with Darwin's 200th anniversary. (glossary, for more information, index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Markle, Sandra: ANIMALS MARCO POLO SAW." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2009. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A208108111/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=863928a9. Accessed 18 June 2025.
3Q*2P*M*J Arntson, Steven. The Wikkeling. Running Press Kids, 2011. 224p. $17.95. 978-0-76243903-4.
In the not-too-distant future, life revolves around safety and predictability. Technology rules, and every activity is carefully overseen. Life is boring and repetitive, and Henrietta does not fit in at all. During school, her mind wanders. She has no friends. She suffers from devastating headaches due, her parents believe, to "house sickness" from their old-fashioned dwelling, one of few not molded from easily sanitized plastic. Then one night, staring at her ceiling, Henrietta notices the faint outline of a trap door. Above is an attic filled with strange objects and, on an old sofa, an enormous cat with a wounded leg--a Wild Housecat, believed to be extinct. Even stranger, outside the attic windows she sees a city from another time. With new friends and fellow headache sufferers Gary and Rose, Henrietta discovers a world of free choice and dangerous, exhilarating possibility. But that world also contains a threatening creature, the Wikkeling, and it is following this headachy trio.
The Wikkeling is almost an afterthought in this sneakily beguiling fantasy. Punctuated by pages from an old volume called "the Bestiary," the book appears to be for young children. But the language is challenging (like Henrietta, the reader will be "ensnaring herself a superlative vocabulary"), and issues of responsibility and self-determination are targeted to young teens. Readers who enjoy books like The Little Prince will appreciate its timeless whimsy. Though students may be unlikely to pick it up on their own, this is a possibility for book groups and class discussions.--Kathleen Beck.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2011 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
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Beck, Kathleen. "Arntson, Steven. The Wikkeling." Voice of Youth Advocates, vol. 34, no. 2, June 2011, p. 178. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A259296302/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=1d7c1a1c. Accessed 18 June 2025.
O'Farrell, Maggie WHERE SNOW ANGELS GO Candlewick (Children's None) $18.99 10, 5 ISBN: 978-1-5362-1937-1
After encountering her snow angel, a little girl longs for his return.
Young Sylvie awakens one night to discover a large, shimmering creature with blue-white skin and enormous, snowy wings in her bedroom. When she speaks to the creature, he’s shocked she can see him. He tells Sylvie he’s the snow angel she created last winter and that he watches over her, returning only when she needs him. The angel discovers Sylvie has a fever, wakes her mother, and vanishes. Sylvie’s ill for many months but remembers everything about her snow angel. When she recovers, she thinks obsessively about him, futilely engaging in risky behavior, hoping to trigger his return. In those times she’s truly in danger, swimming and riding her bike, Sylvie’s convinced her angel saves her. As winter approaches, Sylvie decides everyone should have a snow angel and asks her angel for help. The text and illustrations portray Sylvie as an inquisitive, independent, somewhat lonely White girl fascinated by her majestic, magical, winged male protector who, while constrained by professional protocols and resplendent in sparkling robes, responds sympathetically to her attentions. Using line, color washes, and arresting perspectives, the illustrations in this lengthy picture book deftly convey the realism of Sylvie’s world, the wonder of her snow angel, and the sweetness of their bond in scenes of drama as well as stillness.
An appealing contemporary fairy tale told with humor and warmth. (author’s note) (Picture book. 7-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
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"O'Farrell, Maggie: WHERE SNOW ANGELS GO." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A671783290/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9949b16c. Accessed 18 June 2025.
When the Stammer Came to Stay
Maggie O'Farrell, illus. by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini. Walker US, $18.99 (72p) ISBN 978-1-5362-3910-2
At the start of this personal-feeling work from previous collaborators O'Farrell and Terrazzini (Where Snow Angels Go), disorderly, chatty Min lives with measured, tidy sister Bea in the attic of a home also occupied by their parents and three lodgers. Storybook-style ink and watercolor artwork shows Bea in neat ruffles and Min with trousers and a scraped shin. But everything changes one night during a household game, when Min finds that "her tongue seemed to be suddenly locked. Instead, the only sound she could make was S-S-S-s-s-s--." Similar experiences continue the next day at breakfast, en route to school, and at lunch. Later, in the mirror, she sees a smoke-like shape hovering above her, "seizing the words as they rose to her lips." Bea, suggesting that the occurrence is a stammer, identifies the shape as a "dybbuk, an undesirable spirit which takes up residence with a person, causing them great difficulties." A discussion of symbiosis helps Min embrace the dybbuk ("Try to think of your stammer as a friend.... Remember what it gives you") in this relational portrait. Protagonists are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 5-8. (Dec.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"When the Stammer Came to Stay." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 36, 23 Sept. 2024, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A810712192/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=56d2ca14. Accessed 18 June 2025.
Terrazzini, Daniela Jaglenka THE BOY WHO LOST HIS SPARK Walker US/Candlewick (Children's None) $18.99 4, 1 ISBN: 9781536233933
Be careful what you claim to disbelieve. It may be listening.
Jem has been overflowing with anger ever since his mother moved him and his little sister, Verity, from the city to the country, far from their old life and friends. As his unhappiness mounts, strange things begin happening: Jem discovers his shoes filled with chestnuts; the family's clothing is shredded. Verity blames a "nouka," a mysterious being said to live in the nearby hill. Jem's frustrations build until one day he declares, "I don't believe in the nouka!" These words trigger the local nouka, a furry black creature who does indeed exist and who likes warm fires and pranks--and who turns its attention to the boy, ramping up the misdeeds. For Jem, accepting his new home means also accepting the existence of the nouka, twin problems for a boy determined to be sad and serious. In this lengthy picture book, delicate watercolors illuminate the quiet beauty of the countryside, imbuing both Jem's slowly dawning wonder and the nouka's tiny world with magic and poignance. Acclaimed adult novelist O'Farrell's language is marked by elegant turns of phrase, as when Jem is described as feeling "so low and listless, sitting there, as if his insides had been stuffed with damp rags." The characters present white. This U.K. import closes with music and lyrics to "The Song of the Nouka," based on the Irish jig "Seanduine Dóite."
A wise and gentle tale about the necessity of mischief to distract us from ourselves.(Picture book. 5-9)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Terrazzini, Daniela Jaglenka: THE BOY WHO LOST HIS SPARK." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Jan. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A823102213/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=926cea8a. Accessed 18 June 2025.
Maggie O'Farrell and Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini (illustrator); THE BOY WHO LOST HIS SPARK; Walker Books US (Fiction: Fantasy) 9.99 ISBN: 9781536240429
Byline: Karen Rigby
Moving to a cottage in the countryside unsettles a boy in Maggie O'Farrell's fantasy story The Boy Who Lost His Spark.
Jem misses the city. He struggles with school: A learning disability is hinted at, and he's prone to fidgeting. His sister, though, is enchanted by their village's legend about noukas, furry, impish creatures that live in the volcano. Nouka visitations are spurred by people's unhappiness; their harmless pranks, from exchanging sugar for salt to stirring up a cat, shake people out of their brooding. But Jem doesn't think noukas are real. When one of the last noukas senses Jem's tense mood, it prompts a mysterious encounter that releases Jem from his fears of not belonging.
Read-aloud cadences and poetic imagery, as with likening the experience of climbing into a tree and sitting among its leaves to being on a "great, green ship in the wind," pair with outstanding, cozy illustrations. These feature nostalgic items including a bentwood chair, a Linzer cookie, and a pitcher of custard alongside a light gray swirling motif that suggest lyrics to a nouka song. The absence of modern touches enhances the fairy-tale ambiance, in which the noukas have existed for so long that they know more village history than anyone.
Overt messages about belief (people don't need to see the air they breathe to believe in its existence, the book notes) complement the book's march toward Jem's inevitable change of heart, which is enchanting because of the expressive artwork, in which his feelings of astonishment register well.
In the gentle fantasy story The Boy Who Lost His Spark, a boy made separate by his own self-awareness comes to joy with a little help from an otherworldly friend.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Foreword Magazine, Inc.
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Rigby, Karen. "The Boy Who Lost His Spark." ForeWord, 17 Feb. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A828616617/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=51698d39. Accessed 18 June 2025.