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Follow the Swallow

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Book Synopsis

A delightfully funny story about friendship and seasonal change from the multi-award-winning Julia Donaldson.

Chack the blackbird and Apollo the swallow are friends.

But when Apollo tells Chack that he will soon be flying to Africa – Chack doesn’t believe him.

And when Chack tells Apollo that the blossom on his favourite tree will one day turn into orange berries – Apollo doesn’t believe him either!

But as the seasons change, Chack and Apollo are both in for a big surprise …

Join Chack and Apollo on a round-the-world adventure in this delightfully funny story about friendship and change.

From the author of the multi-million-selling The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson, Follow the Swallow is the perfect book for EVERY season!

Our Review Panel says...

Julia Donaldson has done it again with Follow the Swallow. I read this to our Y1 and Reception classes in their library session and they were enthralled with the story of Chack and Apollo’s friendship over the miles. The birds become friends from being small, but it’s obvious they live in different worlds. Chack can’t imagine how far Apollo will fly, and Apollo can’t understand the seasonal changes Chack will go through, both in himself and the world around him.

The children loved the “I don’t believe you!” refrain, which runs through the first part of the book (because of course, many of them know what’s really going to happen and they LOVE being right!). The second part of the story follows Chack’s message “Come to the tree!” to see the berries in Autumn – but Apollo has already left for Africa. An increasingly funny series of animals mangle Chack’s message until it finally reaches Apollo, who is just about ready to come back to the North for summer. The big reveal of the correct message and of what’s happened with Chack in the meantime is really satisfying.

The joy in Chack and Apollo’s faces when they meet again is just lovely. I would recommend it for all of KS1 as a storybook, and you could use it as a jumping-off point if you were doing a topic on animal migration.