Shadows in the Sky

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The history of the legendary Cornish chough has been well documented. Few other animals have been so specifically associated with a particular region of the world, and the extinction and reappearance of this distinctive bird in England has been widely reported in the national press. Numbers of this charismatic, aerobatic, red-billed crow dwindled over the past few hundred years until the last one finally disappeared from Cornwall and England in 1973. Against all the odds, three returned in 2001 and there is now a small but thriving colony in Cornwall.

Shadows in the Sky is an imaginative interpretation of the story, based in fact, but brought to life in a vital and enthralling way. Inspired by such wildlife classics as Jack London's White Fang and Richard Adams' Watership Down, it takes us into a harsh natural world where survival is all and lets us experience life from the birds' perspective. Set against the salt-lashed landscape of the rugged Cornish coast, Shadows in the Sky is a vivid evocation of the timeless struggle for balance between humans and nature. With its many sympathetic characters, its gripping storyline and its foundation in truth, Shadows in the Sky is, above all, a heart-warming tale that will strike a chord with everyone who cares about the human impact on nature.

Illustrations by Colin Stimpson.