I am a primary school teacher who is a voracious reader. I love reading children's books, talking to them about books, engaging them in reading for pleasure and recommending books to them.

Nisha’s War by Dan Smith – Get Kids into Books Nisha’s War by Dan Smith – Get Kids into Books

Working in a bookshop has certainly complimented my illustration work, it's given me an extensive overview of the entire market as well as affording me the opportunity to spot trends and follow the careers of illustrators I admire. It has also given me an insight into the big driving sales and marketing engines of the publishing industry, reinforcing the fact that a book has to sell itself to keep its position on the shelves. Which classic children's story would you most like to illustrate? The inclusion of mysterious ghost who sets Nisha a life-or-death challenge is really just the cherry on top of an already delicious cake! I liked how the book depicted aspects of the Second World War that were less familiar to me: the Japanese invasion of Malaya and the fall of Singapore. These events will certainly be unfamiliar to most primary-aged children too. Dan Smith’s portrayal of how war affects the mental health of young people also provides another fresh angle on a wartime story. When Nisha and her mother have to flee the war in Malaya, they receive a cold reception from Nisha’s paternal grandmother in the north of England. When her mother falls ill shortly after their arrival, Nisha is left to face her formidable grandmother and racist locals alone. Scared, lonely and haunted by memories of the past, Nisha finds herself drawn to the Weeping Tree where she meets Twig, who tells Nisha she has to find three treasures and bring them to the tree before the full moon turns from gold to silver and all will be well.Set in 1942 Nisha has escaped the terror of the Japanese invasion of Singapore. Missing the heat of home in Malaya, her grandmother’s house in the North of England seems especially cold and grey. Even the villagers are suspicious of a girl with brown skin who they can see is only half English.

Matthew Land Illustrates Historical Fiction for Chicken House

Thrust into a new and alien world, Nisha shows great determination and resilience in the face of hostility. The fact that she is ‘different’, coming from Indian/ English parentage, being an ‘outsider’ and having partially lost her hearing due to a bomb blast all add to the wave of prejudice she encounters from many villagers. The contrast between scenes of the stark landscape of Barrow Island and the vibrancy and colour of Malaya, the threat of the Weeping tree and the safety of the banyan tree even with its ghosts, the sense of life before and life after skilfully emphasis her vulnerability and deepen the reader’s empathy for her situation. She would be a wonderful character to explore with a class. Malaya, 1942.Nisha’s home is destroyed by war and she and her mother, Amma, flee to her father’s ancestral house in England, perched on a cliff top on the cold Northern coast.This is definitely a brilliant historical fiction book which I would recommend to many people aged 10-13 as I think they would enjoy the mix of historical and fantasy features. Relationships and characters are at the heart of Nisha’s War. There is family history, trauma and historic hurt for characters to navigate. I loved watching them develop during the course of the story. Relationships thaw and change and we witness personal growth and self-acceptance too.

Nisha’s War,’ by Dan Smith. – Library Girl and Blog tour: ‘Nisha’s War,’ by Dan Smith. – Library Girl and

Location is hugely important to the story; it’s a metaphor for Nisha’s mental well-being. Most of her memories of her home in Malaya are happy, warm, and full of love. She remembers Malaya in bright colours, which reflects her state of mind. In her journal, she writes about the evacuation from the plantation where she lives, and during that journey things change for her. When she reaches England, all the colour has gone from her world. Nisha has lost all hope and the setting reflects that. Barrow island is cold, grey, and harsh. The weather is dull. The nearby village is bland and confusing. The story is about Nisha learning to see the colours once more.Nisha’s War is a stunning, hauntingly atmospheric wartime adventure which swept me into a ghostly tale of loss, forgiveness and hope; a powerful depiction of the trauma caused by war and of healing within a family. The novel is richly written and there are many descriptive passages worth lingering over and sharing. Although the story would make an excellent class story, some of the passages about the war are quite graphic and so the audience would need careful consideration- Year 6 and above- before reading. A ‘Did You Know?’ section and glossary of terms further enrich the reader’s experience.

Nisha’s War / Young Quills reviews 2023 / Historical Association Nisha’s War / Young Quills reviews 2023 / Historical Association

This is a perfect melding of the historical and the otherworldly which kept me utterly gripped throughout as danger creeps ever closer, time runs out, and secrets are uncovered. The evocation of wartime, of a sense of eeriness and of an isolated island are brilliantly portrayed. The loss of colour, warmth and hope in Nisha’s life following the invasion of her once-happy home is powerfully portrayed in the descriptions of the island, but hope has the chance of returning through her quest and her relationships with those she meets.The book’s themes of grief, guilt, forgiveness and belonging are extremely powerful and will resonate with the reader. So too will the book’s underlying messages about courage, honesty and hope. An atmospheric ghostly mystery with a twist. This would be an excellent choice for any reader aged 9+ We asked Matthew about his creative process and working on Nisha's War. Tell us a bit about the process of creating the cover for Nisha's War from brief to publication? There’s also a stark and honest exploration of racism and what it means to be a refugee – sadly still very relevant today. Nisha and her mother face prejudice and judgement in England. Some of the locals do nothing to hide their dislike and distrust of refugees, and Nisha’s grandmother does not hide her disapproval of Amma as a daughter-in-law, making it very clear that she would have preferred her son to marry a nice English girl. When Nisha’s mother falls seriously ill with a suspected recurrence of malaria, Nisha finds herself alone and in desperate need of a friend. Encouraged to explore outdoors by Mrs F, Nisha discovers a beautiful, secluded walled garden, and catches a glimpse of a boy, but why has Mrs F told her there is no one else living on the island?