David Almond shares dimensions of his childhood growing up in the working class town of Felling-on-Tyne in England in the 1950s and 1960s in a series of reminiscences that precede each of the short stories in this collection, many of which have autobiographical elements. The stories draw on the same themes seen in many of Almond’s novels: religion, art, working-class life, friendship. A sense of the specific community in which they are set, and of things that exist just beyond the realm of reality, also infuse a number of the stories, which are both gritty and lovely. Almond writes: “These stories take place in a real world—the streets in which I grew, the fields and beaches over which I walked. People I know appear in them. But in fiction, real worlds merge with dreamed worlds. Real people walk with ghosts and figments. Earthly truths go hand in hand with watery lies.” (Ages 11–14)

Master storyteller David Almond presents a beautiful collection of short fiction, interwoven with pieces that illuminate the inspiration behind the stories.

May Malone is said to have a monster in her house, but what Norman finds there may just be the angel he needs. Joe Quinn’s house is noisy with poltergeists, or could it be Davie’s raging causing the disturbance? Fragile Annie learns the truth about herself in a photograph taken by a traveling man near the sea. Set in the northern English Tyneside country of the author’s childhood, these eight short stories by the incomparable David Almond evoke gritty realities and ineffable longings, experiences both ordinary and magical. In autobiographical preludes to each story, the writer shows how all things can be turned into tales, reflecting on a time of wonder, tenderness, and joy.