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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. The story follows Chack (the blackbird) and Apollo (the swallow)’s friendship over the miles. 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.

Children love the ‘I don’t believe you!’ repeated refrain as the birds compare their different worlds, which runs through the first part of the book until Apollo leaves for Africa and Chack watches the berries emerge and transform the trees.

The second part of the story follows Chack’s attempt to get a message to his friend (‘Come to the tree!’), 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 hugely satisfying and the joy in Chack and Apollo’s faces when they meet again is just lovely.