The Most Important Books of All: A Guest Post by SF Said
With breakneck pacing and an enchanting sense of place, this is a story that moves. Speaking to compelling and resonant themes, it’s a treasure for readers of all ages. Read on for an exclusive essay from author SF Said on writing Tyger.
Paperback $9.99
Tyger
Tyger
By
SF Said
Illustrator
Dave McKean
In Stock Online
Paperback $9.99
In this thrilling fantasy, two kids and a mystical tyger must save a divided world on the brink of destruction. A thought-provoking alternate history adventure with the epic sweep and imaginative wonder of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.
In this thrilling fantasy, two kids and a mystical tyger must save a divided world on the brink of destruction. A thought-provoking alternate history adventure with the epic sweep and imaginative wonder of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series.
I believe the books we love when we’re young are the most important books of all. They make us readers, change our lives, and shape us in the deepest ways. That’s why I dedicated my life to writing books for young readers – and why I give every book I write everything I have to make it the very best book it can be.
Tyger is a mythical, magical adventure story about a boy, a girl and a tyger. It took me nine years to write it, draft after draft, because I wanted it to be a book that would grip readers from the first page, and stay with them long after the final page.
The story takes place in a version of present-day Britain – but one where the British Empire never ended, slavery was never abolished, and almost all animals have been hunted to extinction. It’s in this strange alternate world that a boy called Adam and a girl called Zadie find the mysterious Tyger, who shows them that we all have the power to change the world, and that there is always hope, even in the darkest times.
Its roots go right back to my own childhood. I remember reading William Blake’s poem The Tyger when I was at school. “Tyger Tyger burning bright” – I was mesmerised by those lines. You don’t need to know Blake’s poem to enjoy Tyger, but that’s where it began! The poem had the power of a myth for me, and that mythic quality is something I always aim for in my writing.
I remember reading Ursula K Le Guin’s Earthsea books as a young adult, and realising that I wanted to write books like these: books you could read at any age, because they contain many layers and levels of meaning that can reward a whole lifetime’s reading. I think all the best books for young readers are like that. We call them children’s books, but really, they’re books written for readers of all ages. Children’s books are books for everyone!
For me, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy sets the bar for what children’s literature can do, which is absolutely anything. The way it imagines other worlds was a huge inspiration for Tyger. Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses sequence was my other lodestar when writing Tyger and thinking about alternate histories. These books can change the way you see the world, yet they’re total page-turners, irresistibly exciting.
That was the kind of book I wanted to write. I put everything I know and love into Tyger, because I wanted it to be the most inspiring story I could imagine. And then Dave McKean’s incredible artwork lifted it into dimensions words alone could never reach. I hope it thrills young readers – and older ones too. Because you’re never, ever too old to read children’s books. Or to love them!