Counting Stars

This evocative collection of short stories gives a clear insight into the experiences which lie behind David Almond's novels: the memories of a Tyneside childhood, the tragedies and happiness of his loving family and the ordinary and extraordinary people who shared his home village.

He also explores his Catholic upbringing, which provides a backdrop to all the events of his childhood, and the way he alternately embraces and rejects his religion as he grows up.

The darker side of life, in the shape of his mother's arthritis, and the deaths of his little sister Barbara and his father, are also movingly related. All of the stories, some of which are very short, are full of the desultory, fanciful and bizarre conversations imaginative children have with each other. This is another superb offering from a talented, original and award-winning author.