Reviewed by anne on
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 6 March, 2019: Finished reading
- 6 March, 2019: Reviewed
Lenny's Book of Everything
by Karen Foxlee
A moving novel about love, loss and growing up with a brother who has gigantism
"Tough, tender and beautiful"
Glenda Millard, author of The Stars at Oktober BendLenny Spink is the sister of a giant. Her little brother Davey won't stop growing - and at seven is as tall as a man.
When they receive their monthly instalment of Burrell's Build-It-at-Home Encyclopedia set, fun and excitement burst into Lenny and Davey's lives. The amazing, mysterious entries in the book's pages give them a way to dream of escape: Lenny vows to become a beetle expert, while Davey decides he will run away to Canada and build a log cabin. But as Davey's disease progresses, the siblings' richly imagined world becomes harder to cling to in this deeply moving and original novel about grief, family and wonder.
"Warm, humorous, absolutely real and above all, uplifting... Karen Foxlee, you're a genius"
Wendy Orr, author of Dragonfly SongKaren Foxlee was born in Mount Isa, Australia. She trained and worked as a nurse before studying for a degree in creative writing at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is the author of five books, including The Anatomy of Wings, which won the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best First Book in the South East Asia and South Pacific region, and Lenny's Book of Everything, which is published by Pushkin Children's Books.