
The Boy Who Fell from the Sky
by Benjamin Dean
Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 8+
Published by Simon & Schuster, 2023
About this book
Demons are terrifying creatures that fall to Earth whenever there’s a shooting star, and they must be captured before they kill humans. Zed’s dad is the First Hunter of Demons. And Zed is expected to follow in his footsteps. But when he meets an actual Demon, he finds that he’s just a boy. A frightened boy who wants to go home. Perhaps the myths about Demons are wrong. Can Zed help Spark, while his father is determined to hunt him down?
This is an involving and exciting adventure that explores themes of human rights and the demonising of ‘the other’ in an accessible, age-appropriate way. Zed and his friendship with the Demon Spark are at the heart of the book, meaning that the message that we should treat people who are different from us with kindness, not suspicion and violence, is not overly laboured, but organic and heartfelt. As with Benjamin Dean’s other charming books, the reader is invited to consider things from others’ points of view, and to be open to changing their perspective. This would be a brilliant class reader for older primary children, stimulating many conversations and provoking empathy.
About the author

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Phoenix
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Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow
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