Budgie

A lost little budgie brings together a young boy and his seemingly grumpy older neighbour in this touching Little Gem from award-winner and Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho.Mr Buxton is always having a go at Miles and his friends for climbing the trees outside their tower block. Miles thinks he’s just a grumpy old man but when he finds a lost little budgie, Miles also discovers that he and Mr Buxton have more in common than he could ever have imagined.

"This moving and lyrical story is pitched perfectly at young readers. It is short and accessible, yet full of empathy and compassion, with beautiful illustrations. Pippin shines brightly out of the artwork, echoing the brightness he brings to everyone’s lives." -- BookTrust, "I did not expect the plot of this lovely book to go the way it did, and it was such a beautiful thing." -- Lesley Parr, author, "Brimming with imaginative and lyrical writing, and the author’s natural empathy and compassion, Coelho’s charming and resonant story speaks loudly about the healing power of friendship across what can sometimes feel like a generational divide." -- Book-Marked, blog, "A beautifully rounded story full of his hallmark humanity and love of nature." -- LoveReading4Kids

Joseph Coelho is a playwright, poet, award-winning children’s author and the Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2022-2024. Joseph’s poems have been featured in many anthologies such as Green Glass Beads by Jacqueline Wilson and his own debut poetry collection, Werewolf Club Rules, earned him the CLiPPA Poetry Award in 2015. Joseph has also written the picture book series, Luna Loves, and the middle-grade, Fairytales Gone Bad series. Most recently, his book, The Girl Who Became a Tree, was shortlisted for the 2021 CILIP Carnegie Medal.