Swimming to the Moon

From the author of A Room Full of Chocolate comes an aspirational story about facing fears and defying expectations. Bee stumbles through life in her stripy socks with her head in the clouds, doing her very best to keep out of the way of her bickering parents and avoid the bendy tap dancing freak Crystal Kelly - who makes her life a misery. But when Crystal double-dares her to volunteer for a sponsored swim in honour of her great grandmother Beatrix's memory, Bee can't back down. Even though she is terrified of water and cannot swim! Then new boy Moon-Star gallops to Bee's rescue on his horse and takes her to meet Old Alice, who lives in a beautiful painted wagon. As Bee enters this new world, her life is changed for ever. Finally she has an ally. Down by the promise tree the new friends make a pact - Moon Star will teach Bee to swim if Bee will teach him to read. They spit on their hands and shake on their vow and a beautiful friendship begins. ‘Swimming to the Moon has it all. Cleverly written in first person, characters leap from the pages as real (and wildly imaginative) as can be ... A great story with fine structure, wonderful characters and a warm happy ending.' The School Librarian ‘Warm and dreamy with just the right amount of quirk for young readers to identify with if they feel like outsiders, Book Trust