Norah's Ark
This heartbreaking story shines a light on child poverty, homelessness and belonging as an unlikely friendship forms between two children from opposite walks of life.
Norah Day lives in temporary accommodation, relies on food banks for dinner, and doesn’t have a mum. But she’s happy enough with her dad and a mini zoo of rescued wildlife to care for. Adam Sinclair lives with his parents in a nice house with a private tutor and everything he could ever want. But his life isn’t perfect—far from it. He’s stuck at home recovering from cancer with an overprotective mum and no friends. When a nest of baby birds brings them together as an animal rescue team, Adam and Norah discover they’re not so different after all. Can they solve the mystery of Norah’s missing mother together? And can their teamwork save their zoo of rescued animals from the rising flood?
Narrated through the perspectives of both children, Norah's Ark is a vital tool for social emotional learning and empathy building.
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning children’s author and primary school teacher from Scotland. Her books have been recognized by numerous prizes in the UK, winning the Glasgow School Libraries' YA-ldie Prize in 2023 and the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award in 2020/2021, with shortlisted places in the James Reckitt Hull Children’s Book Award in 2021, the Trinity Schools Book Award in 2021, The Week Junior Book Prize in 2023, and regional library awards in Falkirk and Leeds in 2023. In 2024, she was nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing.