The Notted Island

by Katherine Child

Overview

A stunningly illustrated middle-grade story of kindness, determination, a night sky salesman and a young girl named Umbertiska Lupp.

For a very long time, the world was black and white...

Last Island is struggling. Colour has not reached them, their Notte is making mistake after mistake and now an Automated Night Sky salesman has come to town.

It's time for Umbertiska Lupp, a young islander with pockets full of cake, to take matters into her own hands and embark on an adventure to bring unity and color to Last Island.

This beautiful gold-foiled hardback is filled with breathtaking illustrations that transition from black and white to color, complete with a matching gold ribbon marker. This is the perfect gift for any intrepid young reader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781838749507
Publisher:	Flying Eye Books Ltd.
Publication date:	10/07/2025
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.94(w) x 9.19(h) x 0.76(d)
Age Range:	10 Years

About the Author

Katherine grew up in Devon and studied illustration at Falmouth University in Cornwall. After a couple of years as a background artist for children’s animation company King Rollo Films, she went back to Falmouth to study a masters in Authorial Illustration.

From 2010 to 2021 Katherine worked at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, photographing a wide variety of insects for multifarious reasons. Her photographs appeared on screen with Sir David Attenborough, in newspapers and books.

She now works as an author and illustrator, represented by Spring Literary.

Editorial Reviews

"A gorgeous book. Strange and beautiful and filled with the magic of a classic, this is something very special indeed."
—Katya Balen, Author of October, October

"Katherine Child is a unique new talent, and The Notted Island is an extraordinary debut: reading it feels like stumbling over a forgotten children's classic in the back room of a dusty antique bookstore, full of treasures, and reading agog at the wonders inside. Strange, delirious, gorgeously illustrated, and with a captivatingly voice, its part Diana Wynne Jones, part James Thurber, and utterly distinctive."
—Ross Montgomery, I Am Rebel

"A spunky girl saves her town’s night sky in Katherine Child’s wonder-filled fantasy novel The Notted Island. [...] Tisky exudes curiosity and passion. She navigates the bumps of childhood with earnestness. From pretending to be an owl to absconding with the salesman’s paperwork, she is a constant source of amusement. Her deep love for her island and sky propels the story toward success."
— Foreword STARRED Review

"Child’s delightfully quirky fable celebrates imagination, determination, and the magic of doing things the hard—and heartfelt—way. [...] Child’s prose is vivid and lyrical, perfectly matched by pencil illustrations that grow in detail and ambition as the story unfolds. Together, they build a world that feels both ancient and brand new. Playful, poetic, and just a little bit wild, this pint-sized epic trusts readers to embrace mystery and fight for magic."
— Booklist Review

"The Notted Island reads like a true labour of love. Each character, creature and place is densely described in word and image. The illustrations compliment the text, they build in ambition and complexity as the story goes on, the makers hand evident in every delicate mark. The two work together to form a complete whole, woven as the night sky in the story, with artful and joyous craft. It is a wonderful celebration of the hand-made and the process of creation."
— Alexis Deacon, Children's Author + Illustrator

"Child’s story is enthralling, exciting, intriguing and slightly sideways from anything you’d expect. It trusts the reader to not question the mysteries it offers up, believing in the world as it unfolds. It feels a small myth, an epic miniature, a glorious pocket-sized gem of a whole new world. I urge everyone to join Tisky on the adventure she doesn’t know she’s making – help her save her island and bring a little night and colour into her fellow islander’s lives."
— A.F. Harrold, Children's Author

"In this U.K. import, a girl must band together with river sprites, a time-telling shadow, and a dog to save her island’s night sky. [...] With fun wordplay and the personification of natural phenomena as beings and tasks, this parable strikes an endearingly quirky, goodhearted tone as it underscores the importance of downtime and magical thinking in the face of ever-increasing demands for efficiency. Child’s frequent, detailed illustrations enhance the story with their depictions of Tisky’s unique world and compatriots. [...] A fun treatise on the necessity of whimsy."
— Kirkus Review

"A deeply original debut"
— The Bookseller

From the Publisher

2025-08-02
In this U.K. import, a girl must band together with river sprites, a time-telling shadow, and a dog to save her island’s night sky.

“Colour” has finally arrived in a previously black-and-white world, and all are enjoying the fresh new hues…except for the inhabitants of Last Island. Wondering if they’re being punished for bad behavior, the townspeople of Grubb decide to entice Colour by being as virtuous and industrious as possible—which leaves them irritable and vulnerable when a salesman arrives to sell them an automated night sky. In this world, people known as nottes—a term taken from Old Norse—draw the fabric of night over the land each evening. Local girl Tisky longs to be a notte, and when she discovers that the salesman hasn’t delivered an important letter to the current estranged notte, she heads north to do it herself. Along the way, she meets others who’ve had their own encounters with the notte and with the salesman and comes to understand more about the land and the night. With fun wordplay and the personification of natural phenomena as beings and tasks, this parable strikes an endearingly quirky, goodhearted tone as it underscores the importance of downtime and magical thinking in the face of ever-increasing demands for efficiency. Child’s frequent, detailed illustrations enhance the story with their depictions of Tisky’s unique world and compatriots. Tisky has skin the white of the page.

A fun treatise on the necessity of whimsy. (map)(Fantasy. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews