The Girl Who Became a Tree: A Story Told in Poems
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This issue’s cover illustration is from Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright!: An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year edited by Fiona Waters and illustrated by Britta Teckentrup. Thanks to Nosy Crow for their help with this September cover.
Digital Edition
By clicking here you can view, print or download the fully artworked Digital Edition of BfK 244 September 2020.
The Girl Who Became a Tree: A Story Told in Poems
Illustrated by Kate Milner
This novel in verse by poet Joseph Coelho tells the story of Daphne who is mourning the loss of her father. As she seeks solace in the library, atmospherically depicted as a forest, and on the screen of her phone, Daphne accesses both painful and happy memories and works her way through isolation and the stages of grief to re-connect with family and friends.
The author skilfully re-works the legend of Daphne, turned into a tree by her river-god father to avoid the attentions of Apollo, into a bleak and emotional YA story of loss and loneliness full of powerful imagery. Free verse and form poems combine to present themes of death, loss, hope and renewal and the dark, spiky black and white illustrations enhance the atmosphere of fear and dislocation. This is a thought-provoking book which merges fantasy and reality, inner and outer worlds, and urban and forest landscapes. It is an emotional and complex read, but those older readers who enter the forest with Daphne as she confronts the darkness inside will emerge with her into a more hopeful world.