Author Description

The beautiful Marlborough Sounds, at the northern tip of New Zealand's South Island, is the setting for this innocent tale of love and loss. Tane is like any other Maori boy, until a traumatic event in his life renders him mute and withdrawn. Forced to live with the strict disciplinarian Grandma Ann on an isolated island, without love or affection, Tane eventually finds companionship from a tui - a little bird whose remarkable voice seems to speak to him. Then, one day, love comes back into his life in the shape of a young English girl who has been washed ashore on the island. As their friendship blossoms among the hills of ferns, Tane has to choose between what he loves and what is right. Silence and Songbirds is a tale about love, loss and the mysteries which appear in their presence. A story to pull at the heart strings.