Alfred doesn’t want to stay with his granny in her cottage beneath the cliffs but he has no choice now that his dad’s work will take him away for a while. He always feels as if he’s being watched when he’s there. Surrounded by dark woods, whispering trees and secrets that lurk in the shadows, he is convinced he can see and hear creatures not of this world. To top it all off, he’ll be starting a new school, a new chance for bullies to make fun of the fact he has one leg shorter than the other.
The more time he spends in the cottage and with his gran and her wood carvings, the more he realises that perhaps his family has more to do with the legendary faerie tales he had heard about than they are letting on. A visit to his mum’s grave plants a seed of doubt in his mind and it’s up to Albert and his friend, Saga, to investigate the possibility that the creatures in the woods, and some of the people around him, know far more than they have revealed so far.
When the area is threatened by the construction of a motorway, Alfred and Saga try to stop the demolition of Faerie Hill. With his dad on the construction team, he is torn between family loyalty and finding out the truth that lies beneath their feet. A race against time ensues and Alfred soon questions that all is not what it seems in his world. Can he save Faerie Hill from motorway madness? Is his mum alive after all? Who are the sprites and creatures that chatter in his ear?
Helle Norup’s wonderful text, along with Thy Bui’s striking illustrations, have created a fantastic world of faerie chaos and mayhem hidden in plain sight. Humans may co-exist nearby but their destructive ways will hinder the magical world of Faerie Hill in more ways than Alfred ever thought possible. Amplifying the voices of those with disabilities, this story of family, friendship and the need to belong sits well in the pages of this brilliant tale – should you dare to open the first page and join them on their adventure…
