Stitch by Padraig Kenny
Stitch and his friend Henry Oaf were brought to life by the genius Professor Hardacre. But when his wicked nephew takes over the laboratory, they soon discover that his sights are set on Henry as his next experiment. Can Stitch and Henry escape his clutches and make their way in a world they were never built for – and may only ever see them as monsters?
Literary yet accessible, warm-hearted yet chillingly gothic, this beautiful short novel explores themes of life and death, friendship and acceptance – all through a page-turning adventure about what it means to be human.
About the Author
Pádraig Kenny is an Irish writer from County Kildare, now living in Limerick. Previously an arts journalist, a teacher and a librarian's assistant, he now writes full-time. His first novel Tin and recent The Monsters of Rookhaven were both Waterstones Books of the Month. He has twice won the Children's Books Ireland Honour Award for Fiction, has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards. This is his first book for Walker.
About the Illustrator
Steve McCarthy is an Irish designer and illustrator. His style is bold, colourful and inspired by humour and wit. Steve's first picture book, The Wilderness, won the Honour Award for Illustration at the Children's Books Ireland Awards. His poetry anthology with Sarah Webb, A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea, was the 2017 Children's Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.
Praise for Stitch
'This exceptional short novel is indebted to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein… This adventure, with danger, a chase and daring deeds, is skillfully told, convincingly evoked and structured with revelations that compel you to read on. It has clarity, pathos and humour and above all it makes us care about the characters and their connection to each other.'
Children's Book of the Week, The Sunday Times
'A stunning Frankenstein spin-off… It is a fast-paced adventure, throughout which Kenny’s simple prose and short, cliff-hanger chapters… will keep even less confident readers on tenterhooks… Kenny brilliantly captures the pathos of Shelley’s novel.'
The Daily Telegraph
'Resilience and empathy are key themes in Pádraig Kenny’s latest novel… There are many powerful themes explored through the various characters in Kenny’s sophisticated novel: most effectively the idea of difference and what it means to be a good friend. Kenny has lots of fun crafting the language of his “excitabubble” man-made protagonists too, with prose popping in short chapters that will widen the writer’s usual appeal to a slightly younger age group.'
Irish TImes
Publisher: Walker Books
Date Published: 4 January 2024
Paperback, 208 pages.
ISBN: 9781529517781
