a beautiful, short novel that deals wonderfully with the topic of grief for its intended audience. The audiobook was a delight with the inclusion of bird song.
I particularly enjoyed getting to read a completely different type of book from this author, having previously read 'Outside'.

This is a beautiful middle grade book. This book is so well written and the descriptions are fantastic. The characters are so vivid in this book.
The ending made me cry

This is a lovely story and it made me sad. I really felt for Jasper and I wanted him to have happy ending. The illustrations are beautiful of all the birds. The hunt for the night gale is about Jasper who loves birds and k owns lots of facts about them. Jasper loves his sister Rosie who always there for him. Something happens and Jasper decides to go for a walk and look for Rosie and he meets some lovely people on the way. This story is heartwarming and breaks your heart. I read this in a day and was in grossed from the very first page. Definitely recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for letting m read this book.

A heartwrenchingingly beautiful journey of grief, undertaken by a neurodiverse hero who finds solace in his love of birds.

This utterly broke me, but it will also leave you so appreciative of the fragile natutal world around you, and those you share it with.

A very special book

Perhaps one of the most spectacular children’s books I have read. This book is an emotional journey as the main character learns to understand and accept the death of his sister. With a neurodiverse main character, this is sensitively written and with magical weaving and storytelling it is a heartbreaking read. I really enjoyed the quietness of this read that still packed a mighty punch for all that the main character’s journey or adventure isn’t all that adventurous it’s still a story with depth and the ability to keep you turning the pages. If you read one children’s book this year, make it this one. It’s incredible.

The Hunt For The Nightingale is an absolutely beautiful, emotive story about one little boy's journey to find something he's lost, something precious that thing being his big sister. A tale of coming to terms with death, how nature can heal even the biggest personal wounds and of community and finding friendship in often the most unlikely places.

Jasper is obsessed with birds, his sister Rosie is the same and it's a passion they share. Every moment together is spent looking for birds, talking about them or writing about them in the big book of birds. Jasper and Rosie have each other but ever since money got tight their parents have been distant, concentrating on their business and having little time for their children. Rosie has gone away to university, but she still comes home, promising Jasper they will find the Nightingale. When Rosie dies in a car traffic accident, Jasper's parents tell him that she has gone to a better place, feeling completely alone and not understanding where that is maybe she is looking at the service station for the Nightingale, a joke she made previously when it didn't appear in their garden as usual. Jasper runs away to find them both, with food and water and cash in his pocket to buy his Sister chips, He may not find his Sister but he does meet a host of characters along the way that have all lost things but maybe will help Jasper through the dark.

I wrote this review with tears streaming down my face because just wow, this is just breathtaking. It's poignant and powerful. It's easily one of the best middle grade books I've read that deals with the topic of grief. I cried a bucket, but the ending Is so hopeful. This would be such a wonderful tool to help children deal with grief, for adults too. Just absolutely a must read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read 'The Hunt for the Nightingale'.

This is a beautifully written and illustrated book. It deals with loss and grief so may be particularly meaningful for children (and adults) who have experienced the death of a loved one or friend but may not be suitable for some sensitive children who worry about death The bird facts are fascinating and tie the story together well and the characters that Jasper meets have been well chosen.

I read this book in one sitting and didn't want to put it down once.
An absolutely beautiful tale of a little boy trying to come to terms the loss of his big sister, who was his whole world.
Jasper is obsessed with birds, something that he and his sister shared. She would take him on lots of adventures to find birds and together they wrote a book on bird facts and the times they had seen the birds. So birds play a big part in this story, each chapter starting with a short bird fact, which was really lovely.
Jasper's parents were distant before their daughters death, working all the time to keep the family afloat with their new business, and not understanding their children's love for birds. So when their daughter dies, they switch their attention to planning her funeral, and once again, Jasper is left alone and ignored. He doesn't understand that his sister is dead, or at least, doesn't want to admit it. He goes looking for her and the missing nightingale, which usually arrived in their garden at this time of year, but is so far missing. His sister, before she dies, makes a joke about the bird being at the motorway service station some way away. so he decides to go looking for it, thinking his sister would be there too.
along the way, he meets lots of lovely people who he helps find their lost things, working on his bravery, emotions and strength the whole time.
I dont want to spoil the story, as it's so well written and definitely worth a read.
I loved the descriptions, the emotional depth, the understanding of people with panic attacks and other mental issues and they were treated with such respect.
i also loved that although Jasper was constantly meeting strangers on his trip, and he had technically run away from home, this was never glorified as a great thing for kids to do. It was instead talked about as something that Jasper knew he shouldn't have done, felt awful about, knew he shouldn't be talking to strangers, had to cross roads safely etc. and this was reiterated at the end of the book as well. (I've read other childrens books where kids run away, and it's made out to be super fun and exciting, and always worried me that kids would try and copy the characters).
I have to say that i cried a lot, especially towards the end of the book, and i dont often cry when reading books (it's happened maybe 6 other times in my life), but the emotion and realness of the story and characters was so strong, that i just couldn't stop myself.
so obviously, i really recommend this book. It was beautiful from start to finish.

Physically and emotionally, a beautiful book. This has us smiling and crying at a young boys emotional journey into nature. Ultimately a book about the healing properties of setting out into the natural world. Very life affirming , we loved it.

This is a wonderful read and I highly recommend this. This is a story about Jasper and the death of his sister, Rosie. It has beautiful illustrations of birds and the imagery and descriptions throughout are brilliant. This would be a very poignant and helpful book for children who are struggling with grief. And adults too.

Thanks to NetGalley for my review copy.