Zebra Crossing Soul Song

by Sita Brahmachari

Interest age: 11 to 15
Reading age: 13+

Published by Barrington Stoke, 2018

  • Coming-of-age

About this book

Otis, the zebra crossing man, has been part of Lenny’s life for as long as he can remember. But now Otis is gone, replaced by a pelican crossing. And all because he lost it, just that once.

While trying to revise for his Psychology A-level, Lenny reconnects with Otis through a mutual love of music and tries to get to the bottom of why the zebra crossing man means so much to him – and what it was in Otis’s past that might have caused his meltdown.

This lyrical, super-readable book explores the complexity of memory and the importance of music as a recall mechanism. Lenny’s attempts to find his place in the world and to plan his future will strike a familiar chord with many teens and young adults. It is a joyful reading experience that will provoke tears as well as laughter.

Read chapter one from Zebra Crossing Soul Song (PDF)

The fantastic Isaiah from Lilian Baylis School reads an extract

Also by Sita Brahmachari:

About the author

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. 

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