Julia and the Shark cover art

Julia and the Shark

An enthralling, uplifting adventure story from the creators of LEILA AND THE BLUE FOX

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Julia and the Shark

By: Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Tom de Freston
Narrated by: Aysha Kala
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About this listen

 A captivating, powerful and luminous story from a bestselling, award-winning author about a mother, a daughter, and the great Greenland shark. Narrated beautifully with atmospheric sound effects, this is a perfect audiobook for 9+ fans of David Almond and Frances Hardinge.


'A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!' Jacqueline Wilson

'Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars - a classic from cover to cover' Eoin Colfer

'A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light' Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs

The shark was beneath my bed, growing large as the room, large as the lighthouse, rising from unfathomable depths until it ripped the whole island from its roots. The bed was a boat, the shark a tide, and it pulled me so far out to sea I was only a speck, a spot, a mote, a dying star in an unending sky...

Julia has followed her mum and dad to live on a remote island for the summer - her dad, for work; her mother, on a determined mission to find the elusive Greenland shark. But when her mother's obsession threatens to submerge them all, Julia finds herself on an adventure with dark depths and a lighthouse full of hope...

A beautiful, lyrical, uplifting story about a mother, a daughter, and love - with timely themes of the importance of science and the environment.

(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2021 Kiran Millwood Hargrave Animals Animals & Nature Fiction Growing Up Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Feel-Good Polar Region

Critic reviews

Captivating
A tale of courage, understanding and compassion
A triumph
Illustrated with dreamlike fluency
Beautifully written, sensitive exploration of mental illness, fear and families
A truly beautiful book, with text and illustrations in perfect harmony. A book to treasure!
Julia and the Shark is deep, beautiful and true. The art shines and the writing soars. A classic from cover to cover.
There are no wasted words in this book. Like a seashell, or a flying bird, it is uncluttered and vital. The illustrations, by Tom de Freston, are mesmerising. I loved it.
Tom de Freston's stunning illustrations perfectly complement the poetry of Kiran Millwood Hargrave's story
A rich, immersive and wondrous journey, through deep darkness to hope and light
What a gorgeous book - calm, funny, heartfelt, wise, full of the quiet and force of the sea
I fell in love with the tale itself, the setting (I do love a lighthouse!), the characters and the little details - it's a beautiful, forceful storm of a book
INCREDIBLE. Poignant and lyrical and beautiful, it's my favourite of Kiran's books so far and that is saying something. Tom's stunning artwork just brings it to a whole other level
Truly extraordinary. Julia and the Shark is contemporary MG at its best but with a hint of the fantastic. It is the kind of book that you will want to have on your shelves and treasure
A beautifully written, moving exploration of family, friendship and mental health, with exquisite illustrations by de Freston
Such rich and vivid prose ... with beautiful illustrations by Tom de Freston
This beautifully illustrated book proves that picture books are not only for the youngest readers. The black and white sketches are deliberately highlighted with yellow accents that light up the pages in some places, and delicate tracing paper inserts make images shift when you turn them, emphasising the lurking shark. This is a powerful story of love, family and fighting to keep your head above water.
All stars
Most relevant
This is a story that will stay with me long after reading. A gentle story in many ways but with deep themes. The bleakness and beauty of nature, with family and friendship at the forefront.

Beautiful story

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I am a big nature lover and I have always admired sharks before, especially the Greenland shark! It always frustrated me that I couldn’t find a book that has a shark as being a good character especially a Greenland shark as they are not well known so when I found this I new it was gonna be the best book ever I was right!

PERFECT FOR SHARK LOVERS!!!

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I really enjoyed this audiobook, I bought my daughter the book and wanted to listen to it beforehand just to make sure it was suitable and I've now pre-ordered her the next one too! Beautiful use of language and it covers some really important areas in a sensitive accessible way. Just Brilliant!

Wonderful story

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I love the storyline and such good descriptions I would recommend this too any age it’s just so good and cool 😎

This book is so good

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