I finished Callum and the Mountain by @alandmcclure yesterday and oh it's a beauty. There are several things that i loved about it.
First - the language in the story is incredible and at times so beautifully lyrical and descriptive that you literally FEEL the pain of joy as you are immersed in the story and bathed with the beauty within. There's a section where the mountain creates music and could feel the heart swell and well - I very nearly cried as I could clearly imagine the beauty of the sound.
Second - It brings the natural world to life as the characters interact with it and each other and can see it fully and individually for the first time. Each reacts very differently but they come to understand the fragility of nature and our role within it and the sheer beauty of what surrounds us - if we only took time now and then to stop still and appreciate it. such an important message in these times of climate change and planetary crisis.
Lastly that the book is not too long for a class read, and there's nothing content wise that would preclude the younger end of the recommended 9-12y age range from reading it. There is some peril in places, and one character is shown a flashback to a battle scene that scares him deeply, but it's described as a scene with 'bodies and blood'. Nothing unnecessarily graphic or disturbing. Certainly i would be very happy to read it with my own nine year old - especially to be able to expose her to the writing and new vocabulary within.
It's a great adventure, and there was the added bonus of learning a whole plethora of new Scottish words that i never knew. I was very grateful for the dictionary for these at the back of the book! I will be passing this onto it's first child reader in the library today, and i'm going to be very keen to hear what they take from it, from a child reader's point of view. I'm sure that they will find it as wonderful as I have :)