Swanfall

What’s it about?

The story.

Pip lives with his mum in an isolated cottage on the wetlands. School is a struggle, but out among nature he can be himself, and every winter he waits for the swanfall – the return of the flock of Arctic swans that migrate from Siberia. He knows every bird by its markings and loves helping his mum record them as they arrive. But this December, his three favourite swans don't appear. Instead there are strange footprints in the snow, whispers on the wind, and the prickling sense that someone is watching. When Pip finds an old book of poetry telling the tale of the Children of Lir – a mother who died, a father enchanted by a witch, and children spirited away – he becomes determined to uncover what really happened to the three siblings, and what it has to do with his missing swans. Sophie Kirtley weaves Irish folklore, migrating swans and the wild beauty of the wetlands into a lyrical, mesmerising adventure about nature, friendship and belonging.