That Thing (10 Stories to Make a Difference) - Hardcover

Avital Balwit

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1838323538 ISBN 13: 9781838323530

Publisher: Pop Up Projects CIC, 2021

Synopsis

High school student Jayla never expected to be doing an internship – they’re for wealthy students with the right background, or so she thinks. But as a prizewinner in an academic competition, she finds herself spending her summer at an aquarium, and can’t wait to research the behaviour of the resident giant octopus Frazier. However when she becomes accidentally trapped in a tank with another intern, something astonishing happens as Frazier provides a lesson in the value of curiosity and kindness to animals.

For readers aged 10 and up, That Thing suggests that our indifference to other animals also reflects how we treat each other. Written by debut writer Avital Balwit, this thought-provoking story is brought to life with watercolour washes from award-winning illustrator Alexis Deacon. The book is part of Pop Up Projects’ 10 Stories to Make a Difference collection. The collection features a mix of well-known and emerging writers and illustrators, giving a platform to untold stories and diverse new voices. This edition is a beautiful clothbound hardback.

About this title

About the Author

A graduate of the University of Virginia, Avital Balwit was the winner of The Atlantic’s 2020 poetry contest, and a finalist in The New York Times and The Economist essay writing contests. She writes to imagine better, brighter futures, and to delve into the mysteries of human and animal minds. Avital was one of four young winners of Pop Up’s 10th Birthday Writing Competition in 2020; That Thing was chosen out of 100s of entries from 40 countries, and is Avital’s first published children’s book. Avital Balwit lives Oxford.

Alexis Deacon is a writer and illustrator of books including Croc & Bird, Beegu, Jim’s Lion and the three-part graphic novel Geis. Time Magazine named his first book, Slow Loris, one of the 100 best children’s books of all time. He’s a two-times winner of The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award, winner of The Observer/Jonathan Cape/Comica Graphic Short Story Prize in 2014, and has twice been shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. Alexis Deacon lives in Hastings.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pop Up Projects CIC
• Publication date: 2021
• ISBN 10: 1838323538
• ISBN 13: 9781838323530
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Alexis Deacon