Autumn Reads: How I Fell in Love with Katya Balen’s Beautiful Books

I picked up this book at Chatsworth last year, drawn by the beautiful Angela Harding cover and the autumnal theme. I have read with Austin a couple of Katya Balen’s shorter books, Birdsong and Nightjar. These books are published by Barrington Stoke and are dyslexia-friendly with a specific font and cream pages. Austin is not dyslexic but these adjustments make reading easier for all readers plus the books themselves are more meaningful and interesting (in my opinion) that a lot of books written for younger children. I am more than happy for him to smash his way through the entire Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Treehouse ranges but I also wanted him to read books with rich writing and meaningful stories. Balen’s figurative language is incredibly powerful, and she weaves nature into the heart of her narratives in a deeply moving way.

Nightjar explores a difficult relationship between a son and his father. When Noah’s dad comes to visit from New York, the two of them stumble upon an injured nightjar while out on a walk in the countryside. Noah’s determined to help the bird, but his dad thinks they should just leave it be and let nature handle things. As they argue about what to do, it becomes obvious that Noah’s frustration isn’t just about the bird. He feels hurt and abandoned, like his dad has moved on and started a new life in America with a family that doesn’t seem to include him.

Austin read most of Birdsong on his own so I don’t know this one as well but I do know it is connected to Nightjar as the main character, Annie, is Noah’s neighbour. After a terrible car accident, Annie finds herself unable to play her flute and pulls away from the music she once loved. She’s stuck in a world of anger but then she meets Noah, who shows her a blackbird’s nest hidden in the scrubland near their flats. As they become friends, the beautiful song of the blackbirds slowly rekindles Annie’s love for music.

These novellas had me very excited to start October, October and so I started it as soon as the month of October came around.

I was blown away.

This book is, without doubt, one of my favourite books of all time. It is so gorgeously written and the characters are so interesting and vivid that I was sobbing at the end – not because it has a sad ending but because I was so invested in the story. October and her dad live in the woods, where they know every tree, rock, lake, and star like old friends. They’re wild, and that’s just how it’s always been. But then comes the year October turns eleven, and everything changes. She rescues a baby owl, her dad falls from the biggest tree in the woods, and the woman who calls herself her mother comes back. I can see why it won the Carnegie Medal and I am excited to read more by this author.