The Secret of the Purple Lake is a collection of five interlinked stories that take us from Ghana to Orkney, and from Spain to Norway and Thailand. As a minor character from one story assumes a major role in the next, we meet a fascinating cast, including Imoro the magic elephant, the Walrus Prince, and the Wild Princesses of Rousay. The protagonist of the opening tale, The Fisherman's Daughter, has to retrieve her dead father's bones from the bottom of the sea, in order to bring harmony b...

'She weaves ancient storytelling magic into words of exceptional beauty... Everyone should read Badoe' Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs.A leopard dances under the moon.A wolf prowls.A red-beaked bird flies free.Three girls born on the same day in wolf light are bound together to protect the world. They can dazzle or destroy. They have wind-song and fire-fury at their fingertips, but their enemies are everywhere

African myth and magic beat in the dark heart of this fable about witchcraft, superstition, the bonds we choose and those we cannot.Born into a family of West African witches, Sheba's terrified of her mother who is deadly dangerous. But like mother, like daughter – magic runs through her blood and Sheba discovers powers of her own.Her touch can unravel people's innermost thoughts; their hopes, their fears – their secrets. S...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WEEK JUNIOR'S BEST OLDER FICTION AWARD 2024SHORTLISTED FOR THE LITTLE REBELS CHILDREN'S BOOK AWARD 2024NOMINATED FOR THE YOTO CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR WRITING 2025Illustrated in vibrant full-colour, a story of dance, celebration, carnival and slavery, about a family understanding their past to change the future.Set in contemporary Notting Hill, Man-man and his friends are swept u...

*Shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2018.*Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Award 2018.A powerful, haunting debut that steps seamlessly from the horrors of people-trafficking to the magic of African folklore.Sante was a baby when she was washed ashore in a sea-chest laden with treasure. It seems she is the sole survivor of the tragic sinking of a ship carrying migrants and refugees. Her people.Fourteen ye...

Set in contemporary Notting Hill, Man-man and his friends are swept up in the exuberant preparations for carnival. But his mother is ill and even as he dances, he calls desperately to the Queen of Revels, as old as time to make her well again.Swept away with his best friend Kareem and sharp-tongued sister Panama, to a place in between, the Queen of Revels plunges Man-man into Africa's past and reveals his family's heritage. As they gather around the sacred Tree of Memories, he witn...

African myth and magic beat in the dark heart of this fable about witchcraft, superstition, the bonds we choose and those we cannot.Born into a family of West African witches, Sheba's terrified of her mother who can turn into a crow. But like mother, like daughter – magic runs through her blood and Sheba discovers powers of her own.Her touch can unravel people's innermost thoughts; their hopes, their fears – their secrets. Sheba too can shape-shift. Through the communion of ...

Sante was a baby when she was washed ashore in a sea-chest laden with treasure. It seems she is the sole survivor of the tragic sinking of a ship carrying migrants and refugees. Her people.Fourteen years on she's a member of Mama Rose's unique and dazzling circus. But, from their watery grave, the unquiet dead are calling Sante to avenge them:A bamboo flute. A golden bangle. A ripening mango which must not fall... are these the missing pieces of the jigsaw which will reveal...

A leopard dances under the moon. A wolf prowls. A red-beaked bird flies free.Three girls born on the same day in wolf light, the magical dusk, are bound together to protect the world. They can dazzle or destroy. They have wind-song and fire-fury at their fingertips, but their enemies are everywhere.From the bleak steppes of Mongolia and the tropical forests of Ghana to the stormy moors of Cornwall, the lands they love are plundered and poisoned. The girls must rally to perf...