Lark by Anthony McGowan
Book of the Week: 14 June 2020
Illustration by Nick Hayes
This week sees the announcement of the winner of the 2020 Carnegie Medal, the recognition of an outstanding English language book for children or young adults awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. Lark is one of the eight shortlisted books, the others are shown in the photograph below.
Lark is the fourth and final book about brothers Nicky and Kenny and although you can read this as a standalone story, it is a much richer experience if you have already read the others.
Nicky and Kenny have experienced many ups and downs since their mum walked out on the family when they were small. Money was tight, their dad started drinking too much and the boys were sometimes picked on in school. Despite these problems, there has always been the warmth and affection between the brothers and their connection to the natural world around their Yorkshire village. With a few, short words the author slips vivid pictures of birds, animals, hills and streams in the reader’s mind. Who can resist larks described as ‘shooting up into the sky like little brown fireworks’ or the buds on trees as ‘tight fists of life waiting to open out into a green hand’? In this story, however, we are reminded that nature can be unforgiving, as Nicky and Kenny go for a day’s walk on the moors with Tina, their dog, and find themselves lost in a snowstorm. Despite Nicky’s optimism, events take a dangerous turn and there is the potential for tragedy. This is such an everyday adventure (in fact I have been stranded in a snowstorm, albeit in my car, on the Yorkshire Moors) that it is easy to identify with Nicky and Kenny’s growing tension and fear.
This is a short and simply-told story that is full of humour and yet will end up making you think you have ‘got something in your eye’ when it draws to a close.
