The Boy Who Lost His Spark by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, Maggie O'Farrell
Published by Walker Books on 4/1/25
ISBN: 1536233935
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Chapter Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

Jem is not happy that he and his family have moved from the city to a small village.  His younger sister, on the other hand, loves it, and believes that noukas, little fluffy creatures, live in the hill in their village.  These ancient creatures cause mischief throughout the village, but Jem is too unhappy to believe in them.  He instead believes his teacher who says the village hill used to be a volcano and contains nothing but rock, and is adamant that nothing lives there.  However, Jem starts to believe in them when he turns in his volcano assignment at school and his teacher discovers drawings of little creatures that Jem definitely did not draw. Slowly Jem notices things and starts to believe, even meeting one of the cute kitten-like creatures.  Around the nouka Jem feels settled, able to be calm and in control.  Sensing it is lonely, and believing that noukas love fire, Jem and his family build a fire in what used to be the crater of the volcano.  

Jem wants to repay the noukas for all the favors it has given the people of the village.  It is at this first fire that Jem feels like he belongs and doesn’t want to move anywhere else. This fire soon becomes a tradition in the village, a way for the community to come together and celebrate the little creature living in the hill, who creates mischief to bring happiness.

This book would be ideal for public libraries.  It is a perfect read aloud for children who are no longer as interested in picture books, but might not be ready for a longer chapter book.  This book has classic looking illustrations of various sizes on most pages, adding a little whimsy to the story.  Occasionally the illustrations are full spreads or a striking color to emphasize the content of the story.  Readers will also notice faded Gaelic text at the bottom of most pages, tying into the Gaelic poem and song found at the end of the story.  The heavy book and shiny pages also makes this a good book to give a child as a gift.

Reviewed by Lindsay Varnum, Orono Public Library