Sita Brahmachari
Sita Brahmachari is a multi-award-winning writer of novels, plays, novellas and short stories. Sita's first novel, Artichoke Hearts, won the Waterstones Children's Book Award and was voted in the Guardian's top 50 books celebrating diversity since the 1950s. Her subsequent Carnegie-nominated novels are: Jasmine Skies, Red Leaves, Tender Earth, Worry Angels and Zebra Crossing Soul Song. Kite Spirit was nominated for the UKLA book award. She has been an Amnesty International Ambassador and speaks in schools, at festivals and conferences. In 2018 Tender Earth received the UK Honour from the International Board of Books for Young People. Sita is based in London.
She is a former Writer in Residence for BookTrust and Writer in Residence at the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants.
Books
Artichoke Hearts
Author: Sita Brahmachari
Publisher: Macmillan
Interest age: 11-13
Reading age: 11+
This empathetic account of the process of bereavement, a month’s diary, reassures readers that we grow from our experiences, however painful they are.
Car Wash Wish
Author: Sita Brahmachari
Publisher: Barrington Stoke
Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 7+
Fourteen-year-old Hudson has Asperger's Syndrome, and knows his brain works differently. This entertaining and thought-provoking story reveals that there is more than one way of looking at life and its problems.
Corey’s Rock
Author: Sita Brahmachari
Illustrator: Jane Ray
Publisher: Otter-Barry Books
Interest age: 7-10
Reading age: 8+
Isla and her family move to the Orkney Islands from Edinburgh after Isla’s five-year-old brother Corey passes away. Soon, she learns all about selkies and the myths behind them... Sensitive, sad and ultimately uplifting, with beautiful illustrations.
Jasmine Skies
Author: Sita Brahmachari
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 10+
Reading age: 10+
Following from Brahmachari's debut novel, Artichoke Hearts, this a thoughtful, tender and uplifting novel, which continues the story of Mira, now two years older, as she negotiates challenging new experiences, the complexities of family and friendship, and the uncertainty of teenage love.
Kite Spirit
Author: Sita Brahmachari
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 12+
When her best friend Dawn commits suicide, Kite's world falls apart. Struggling to deal with her hearbreaking grief, she leaves London to spend the summer in the Lake District.
Red Leaves
Author: Sita Brahmachari
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 12+
Sita Brahmachari has created a beautiful tale of modern multicultural Britain. Her characters come from diverse backgrounds but are brought together by the common theme - they all feel they have been abandoned by someone they love.
When Shadows Fall
Author: Sita Brahmachari Illustrator: Natalie Sirett
Publisher: Little Tiger
Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 12+
Kai is on a downward spiral, struggling with drug addiction and personal tragedy, but his friends will do anything to save him. A novel that looks at challenging but important issues in a sensitive way, emphasising the need to understand the causes of difficult or wayward behaviour.
Where the River Runs Gold
Author: Sita Brahmachari
Publisher: Hachette
Interest age: 10-13
Reading age: 9+
Shifa and her brother Themba live in a world destroyed by climate change, but when they're sent away to work, they're horrified to discover a cruel and corrupt system. Will they be able to escape and make the world a better place?
Worry Angels
Author: Sita Brahmachari Illustrator: Jane Ray
Publisher: Barrington Stoke
Interest age: 8-12
Reading age: 8+
A super-readable ‘chapters’ book looking at family break-up, school anxiety and how a caring and supportive environment can help to heal and inspire.
Zebra Crossing Soul Song
Author: Sita Brahmachari
Publisher: Barrington Stoke
Interest age: 11-15
Reading age: 13+
Otis, the zebra crossing man, has been part of Lenny’s life for as long as he can remember. But now Otis is gone. What caused his meltdown? This lyrical, super-readable book is a joyful reading experience that will provoke tears as well as laughter.