Did you know
that if you wish for something
in the stealthy shadows of your bedroom,
if you whisper the words
soft as the brush of a moth's wing,
if you feel the words rush through your blood,
your wish might come true.
What was this wish? Bone has found a tiny bird skeleton.
I close my eyes for a moment,
then whisper
will all the longing in my heart,
I wish I could talk to you,
I wish you were alive.
There are five kids in this story. Bones and two other girls who are just finishing Primary school - Akio and Edie. Akio was a best friend to Bones but then along came - Edie and everything changed. And then a new kid who moves in next door named Tenny. Tenny is gender neutral:
Tenny kicks their legs against the dumpster,
just staring and chewing gum.
And the fifth kid is Nico - he has died in a terrible accident. Bones now lives with her Nonna and mum has left to work up North. They do talk on the phone but the connection is often disrupted by bad reception and Bones misses her desperately.
Here are some text quotes to give you an idea about the tone and plot of this story:
It was Edie who gave me my nickname:
Bones.
She thinks it's an insult
but I've claimed it as my own.
Bird has a sweet sense of humour:
'Oh ...
umm ... I guess I meant
I wished you were alive
the way you once were,
with feathers and skin and ...'
Bird stares at me
with his hollow eye sockets.
'Well you could have specified that.'
Wishing for a once-living thing
to be alive again,
the way it was,
goes against the laws of nature.
I cannot be as I was,
so the moons' power has transformed me into
something
no creature should be.
Bones has no idea how to reverse the curse but then she remembers her brother had a book called The Encyclopedia of Moon Magic. Alas, when Tenny and Bones go to the library they discover the book is out on loan. Now the hunt is on. They need to find this book and they need to complete the ritual with Bird by the light on of the next full moon. Wait any longer and Bird will be trapped forever. There is also another major problem. Bones cannot, will not, ever return to that place in the forest. (Note the library visit scene on pages 84-87 would be a great passage to use if you are book talking Little Bones although this does contain the spoiler that Nico has died).
There are several references to the story of Icarus in this book so familiarity with this famous myth could help the reader anticipate Nico's fatal accident. As the text says:
His favourite was
the story of Icarus
(the boy who flew so close to the sun
that his wings melted
and he fell
to his watery death).
I am not sure if this word is too strong but in some ways the journey taken by Bones to restore Bird back to his resting place feels like atonement. And there are also themes of grief, healing, and making new friends. Bones has witnessed the fatal fall of her brother as he climbed a tree to return a baby bird back to its nest. It was at her urging that he was hurrying.
When I opened the parcel from University of Queensland Press (UQP) I actually squealed - a verse novel! An Australian verse novel! Little Bones is a debut novel for Sand Bigna. This book will be published on 4th March. It is always wonderful to share verse novels with students in a library. This one will be enjoyed by readers aged 10+. I also expect to see Little Bones listed as a 2026 CBCA Younger Readers Notable title.
Here are the teacher notes - they are very detailed. You can meet the author at an event in Canberra on 19th March, 2025.
I was interested to read this from Sandy Bigna. You can find her on Instagram.
How did Little Bones come to be? Much of this book was written over a summer break when I had the freedom to dream, play and create. The voice of Bones came to me first, and along with her voice came an image of a lonely girl who collected animal bones and was dealing with issues of loss and fractured friendships. The story idea was inspired by my own fascination with animal bones – the symbolism of them, the way they tell a story of life rather than death. Growing up in Canberra, with its rich and evocative wetlands, bushland and forest areas, inspired the setting for this story.
Other books and verse novels that explore the loss of a sibling or a significant family member. In each of these we follow the journey of grief through to some level of acceptance or restoration.
It is interesting to link Nico with Finch because both boys really embrace life.
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