Cover Reveal: I Give You The Moon

Ffion Jones’s new book, I Give You The Moon, will be published by Ventorros Press in November. It is inspired by a young boy from Bolton who died from a brain tumour and his younger sister Leyla. Baran Akarca, aged eight, died in January, having had a rare cancer since he was just two years old.

During lockdown Ffion set up a social enterprise called Fly Me Stories to send personalised stories to seriously unwell children in hospitals and hospices. Baran and his sister received a story when he was seriously ill and he sadly passed away shortly afterwards.

Ffion wanted to write a special story for them, celebrating the enduring bond between siblings. “I have two children myself and I really felt for them all. The pictures and videos of Baran and Leyla together really touched me and I wanted to write something special for the family celebrating that unique bond between siblings.”

The book is illustrated by fellow Welsh illustrator Gareth Jones, who also illustrated “Golden Flowers for Little Dragon,” Ffion’s book about sibling bereavement which is out in October with the Book Guild. Annabel, Baran and Leyla’s mum, said “We are so excited about the book and we feel it’s a wonderful way to keep Baran’s memory alive. He was a very special boy, not just to us as his family, but also to all who met him or heard about him.” http://ffijones.com

I Give You The Moon is published by Ventorros Press in November. You can pre-order from Waterstones and further information is available at Ffion’s website. You can follow Ffion and illustrator Gareth on Twitter.


Dr Ffion Jones Biography

Ffion Jones is a children’s author and illustrator, focusing on books that deal with challenging subjects. She has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Wales, Bangor. She writes and illustrates the Nurse Ted series (www.nurseted.com), which is used worldwide to help parents explain serious illness such as cancer to children. More recently, she founded a social enterprise called Fly Me Stories (www.flymestories.com) which sends personalised stories to seriously unwell children all around the UK. Her other books include Emily is Being Bullied: What Can She Do? co-authored with Professor Helen Cowie and Dr Harriet Tenenbaum (Jessica Kingsley Publisher, 2018), A School for Everyone: Stories & Lesson Plans to Teach Inclusivity & Social Issues (Jones, Cowie, Tenenbaum, Jessica Kingsley Publisher, September 2021) and I Give You The Moon (Ventorros Press, November 2021). Ffion lives in Swansea.