Awards
- Short-listed for Foyles Book of the Year (UK).
Overview
A soul-stirring reimagined Grimm tale by award-winning author Sally Nicholls and hauntingly illustrated by Júlia Sardà which will spellbind and thrill readers of all ages. Nominated for a 2025 Carnegie Medal for Illustration! When a poor fisherman chooses Death to be godfather to his son, he’s sure he’s made a good choice – for surely there’s no man more honest than Death? At the christening, Death gives the fisherman a gift that seems at first to be the key to the family’s fortune, but when greed overcomes the fisherman, he learns that nobody can truly cheat Death . . .
Full Product Details
Author: Sally Nicholls ,
Júlia Sardà
Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd
Imprint: Andersen Press Ltd
ISBN: 9781839133503
ISBN 10: 1839133503
Pages: 48
Publication Date: 25 September 2025
Recommended Age: From 7 to 12 years
Audience:
Children/juvenile
,
Children / Juvenile
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
"""Gloriously gothic"" * Guardian * ""an outstanding reworking of an old tale... Funny, thought-provoking, and elegantly illustrated by Júlia Sardà, this is a gem for 5+ and my picture book of the year"" * New Statesman, Picture Book of the Year * ""Nicholls’s skilful, sprightly retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairytale is enriched by Sardà’s superbly moody woodcut-style artwork"" * Financial Times, Best Books of 2023 * ""Visually stunning and deliciously macabre re-working of a Grimm fairy tale"" * LoveReading4Kids, Star Book * ""This haunting folktale has been reimagined for the twenty-first century with insight, verve and style... [with] striking and extraordinary artwork... A gripping and exhilarating read"" * Books for Keeps *"
Author Information
Sally Nicholls (Author) Sally Nicholls grew up in Stockton-on-Tees, and after school, travelled the world, working for a period at a Red Cross hospital in Japan. Sally's first novel, Ways to Live Forever, won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and she has been shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Costa Children's Book Award, and the Carnegie Medal, twice. She lives in Liverpool with her husband and two sons. Júlia Sardà (Illustrator) Júlia Sardà is an illustrator from Barcelona. After her studies, Júlia started working as colorist in a studio which made the editorial merchandising for Disney/Pixar and then moved on to freelancing two years later. Now focusing on children’s illustration, Júlia has had the chance to illustrate some incredible debut fiction and everlasting classics.
