Butterfly Brain
If Roald Dahl had written A Monster Calls . . . A very special picture book from two rising stars.
Everyone is always shouting at Gus to stop leaning back in his chair - but does he care? No way! Then sure enough, the chair falls, he cracks his head and has to spend all summer in bed. Out of the crack escape his memories, dreams and imagination ... and a beautiful little butterfly guide. Gus must follow the butterfly to recapture all he's lost, including that locked box he doesn't seem to want to touch ...
Together they remember fish fingers, snapping bubble wrap, cracked pink soap and the leaky tap; they go wild, stomping around in the joy of imagination and happy dreams - but they can't go any further if Gus won't gather all of his memories. His butterfly will die unless Gus is ready to hear about his mum ...
A delightful and moving exploration of grief and the joy that makes us human, from the effervescent voice of Laura Dockrill, with heartwarming full-colour illustrations from Gwen Millward.
Laura Dockrill (Author)
Laura Dockrill is a performance poet and novelist whose inventive and vibrant approach to life is reflected in the vividly imagined worlds she creates. Laura finds creativity in words - from poetry to novels, and scripts to song lyrics. She is author of the Carnegie Medal nominated YA novel Lorali, as well as the Darcy Burdock series (Random House) for younger readers, which was also nominated for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2014, and My Mum is Growing Down (Faber). Laura has appeared on Blue Peter and CBeebies and is a frequent poet performer at festivals such as Glastonbury, Hay, Edinburgh and Latitude.
She loves to visit schools and meet young readers who are as spirited as her. In 2020 her first adult title, What Have I Done? which discussed her own experience with post-partum psychosis was published to widespread critical acclaim. Laura lives in London with her husband and young son. You can follow her on Twitter @LauraDockrill
Gwen Millward (Illustrator)
Gwen was brought up in Wales. Originally she had her heart set on becoming a naturalist as she loved studying insects and drawing them. Her trips abroad when she was young are associated with finding new and strange looking creatures! After school she migrated north to Edinburgh to study art where she graduated with a First in illustration and was awarded the Helen A. Rose Bequest for art.
Gwen's first picture book, Guess What I Found In Dragon Wood (text by Tim Knapman) was published by Puffin, as was The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis, and a collaboration with Jenny Nimmo, The Beasties, by Egmont. She has since published many more, including two about Bear and Bird that she has written herself. Gwen has illustrated Stories from Bug Garden (Candlewick), Tiger Lily, which she wrote and illustrated, and Flat Cat, written by Hiawyn Oram.
Gwen is also the illustrator for the Charmseekers series by Amy Tree, published by Orion. She lives in Bristol with her young son.