The Dam [Hardcover]

A haunting, stunningly illustrated story of loss, hope, and the power of music from multi-award winners David Almond and Levi Pinfold.

Kielder Water is a wild and beautiful place, rich in folk music and legend. Years ago, before a great dam was built to fill the valley with water, there were farms and homesteads in that valley and musicians who livened their rooms with song. After the village was abandoned and before the waters rushed in, a father and daughter returned there. The girl began to play her fiddle, bringing her tune to one empty house after another — for this was the last time that music would be heard in that place. With exquisite artwork by Levi Pinfold, David Almond’s lyrical narrative — inspired by a true tale — pays homage to his friends Mike and Kathryn Tickell and all the musicians of Northumberland, to show that music is ancient and unstoppable, and that dams and lakes cannot overwhelm it.With its every detail—its masterful illustrations, its landscape format, and the elegant text that offers readers a way to see the promise of new life from what has been destroyed—this book triumphs.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

With riveting language and moody art, this true story will evoke awe and reverence of place for even very young readers.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Pinfold’s mixed-media illustrations make the abstract concrete in carefully designed spreads that vary between small, tidily arrayed thumbnails and three-quarter and full spreads...An afterword explains that this is based on the real-life experience of folk musician Mike Tickell and his daughter, and it might be effective to draw on that text as explanation before sharing the story with youngsters to make the most of the story’s emotional impact.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Pinfold's impressive artwork, sometimes full page, but often blocks of scenes covel£3