When the Stammer Came to Stay

By Maggie O'Farrell

Illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini

From Maggie O'Farrell, the multi award-winning author of Hamnet, and the stunning imagination of Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, comes a hopeful and powerful new book, based on Maggie's own experience on living with a stammer.

Sisters Bea and Min couldn't be any more different – Bea is neat and tidy; Min is messy and mucky. Together, they are a perfect pair because Min loves to chat and Bea loves to listen. And in their happy differences, they share the attic room at the top of their very tall, narrow house. Then, one day, as Min is chatting, her tongue feels suddenly locked. The words forming in her mouth never make it out. Some days later, still struggling to speak, she sees the most extraordinary thing at her shoulder in a mirror ... a creature, a thing, seizing the words as they rise to her lips, and cramming them into its mouth. Min continues to struggle with her stammer – how can she truly be herself, when she cannot do what she loves most: chat! Bea is the only one who truly sees, and understands, her. Together, they go on a journey of discovery – what IS this creature? – and they find not quite a solution, but a way to make peace with themselves and to love and embrace what makes each of them different.

Categories: Picture Books

For readers aged: 5+

  • Publication details:
  • Format: Hardback
  • ISBN: 9781529504286
  • Published: 21 Nov 2024
  • Price: £14.99
  •  
  • Size: 250 x 210 mm
  • Pages: 72

More to explore...

  • When-the-Stammer-Came-to-Stay
  • Where-Snow-Angels-Go
  • The-Boy-Who-Lost-His-Spark

More books for age 5+

  • The-Repair-Shop-Stories-The-Toy-Bus
  • Bear-and-Bird-The-Adventure-and-Other-Stories
  • Bunny-and-Clyde
  • Brown-Bears
  • The-Princess-in-Black-and-the-Prince-in-Pink
  • Desert-Jungle

Customer reviews

Reviews

'O’Farrell’s narrative provides comfort and understanding to children who stammer, encouraging empathy and support from those around them.' Children's Books Ireland

'[a] hopeful and powerful new book' The Bookseller

'O’Farrell carefully balances realism with comfort, because life won’t be the same again, but the conclusion is reassuring and wise.' The Bookseller

Write your own review

By submitting a review you grant us the right to display and use it in any way; please read our General Legal Notices for full details. If you are under 16, please obtain your parent/guardian’s permission before submitting or ask your parent/guardian to submit on your behalf.

Hardback
£14.99

Find your local bookshop:

Also available in:

This title isn't currently available in any other formats

Recently viewed