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  • Published: 9 February 2023
  • ISBN: 9780241522066
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 400

The Stickleback Catchers





A powerful, moving and enchanting story from the acclaimed author of The Secret of Haven Point.

Mimi adores her wild, fun, full-of-life gran. Then Gran starts forgetting things. Suddenly there are cracks appearing all around their home - and a mysterious black crow - both of which only Mimi seems able to see.

Mimi is determined to solve the mystery. Luckily she has new friends to help: Titch and Nusrat. Together, they're the Stickleback Catchers: solvers of puzzles and seekers of adventure.

Down by the river, where the gang meet and the silvery sticklebacks swim, they discover a mysterious stone, speckled with stars. But this is no ordinary stone: it's the doorway to another world, a world of talking crows and secrets, magical constellations and memories - and maybe, just maybe, Mimi's chance to bring back Gran forever...

  • Published: 9 February 2023
  • ISBN: 9780241522066
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 400

About the author

Lisette Auton

Lisette Auton is a disabled writer, activist, poet, novelist, spoken-word artist, actor, film & theatre-maker and creative practitioner. She's an award-winning poet who has performed at Northern Stage, ARC, The Southbank Centre and the Sage, in pubs, in a crypt, at festivals, indoors, outdoors, on a bridge and in a launderette. The Secret of Haven Point is her debut novel.

Also by Lisette Auton

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Praise for The Stickleback Catchers

Touching, original and compelling, this is a nostalgic novel about old-fashioned childhoods, but it is also very much of our time.

Children's Book of the Week, Sunday Times

A moving, fantastical adventure story of coming to terms with challenge and change.

Imogen Russell Williams, The Guardian

The Stickleback Catchers is a magical tale sure to cast a spell over young readers.

Pam Norfolk, The Lancashire Post

Auton's brave kid voices ring true to age and region; the representation of differently abled people here is deeply matter-of-fact.

Kitty Empire, The Observer

A magic realist fight to save a beloved grandmother from dementia . . . dialect, disability, neurodivergence and gender-nonconformity were all woven incidentally into this open-hearted book.

Guardian - Best Children's Books of 2023
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