By Linda Sargent & Joe Brady (author) , Leo Marcell (illustrator) Part of the The Phoenix series
"Empathetic and stunningly depicted story about the power of the imagination and true friendship to overcome chronic illness."
Paperback In Stock £10.99 £9.89
View All Editions (1)
October 2024 Graphic Novel of the Month
This graphic novel is really something extraordinary. It is hard to believe that this is Leo Marcell’s debut as a graphic novel illustrator, but I predict that it will not be his last! The expressiveness of the characters, the evocative body language, as well as the beautifully realised authentic detail in landscape, interiors and costume, contrasting with the gloriously vivid imagined sequences, make this a book to linger over. But it is the inspiring and moving story that will really live with you and the way the carefully crafted words and images work together to tell the story explains just why graphic novels are so popular and accessible, and also that they can be as moving and empathetic as any full-length novel.
When we meet Tosh, she is on the cusp of adolescence, about to move up to ‘big’ school. She lives on a Kentish hop farm with her loving adoptive parents. She enjoys helping out on the farm and is sporty, adventurous and bold. She has a best friend, Millie, who is perhaps keener on growing up than she is.
Everybody goes through a lot of physical changes and emotions at this time of their lives, but for Tosh, this is exacerbated by the rapidly developing onset of chronic illness and crippling pain.
At such a crucial period of transition for a young girl, to have to cope with her body letting her down is incredibly difficult and we become completely immersed in her struggles with the new school and the inevitable friendship dramas, made worse by her increasing ‘difference’. Her one solace throughout this and the search for a diagnosis and subsequent gruelling treatment, is her vivid imagination and love of stories, shared with a new friend she made at her favourite beach.
Inspired by Linda Sargent’s lived experience, as we see from the author’s letter and photos, we can see why every nuance of this sensitively told story rings authentically true. It is so rare to see disability and chronic illness ever depicted in children’s fiction and to be done so well makes this an important and welcome addition to any collection.
Any reader will be inspired and uplifted by the resilience and positivity with which Tosh meets her changed future.
Join LoveReading4Kids Editorial Expert Joy Court in conversation with authors Linda Sargent & Joe Brady, and illustrator Leo Marcell in this exclusive event that explores the story behind Tosh's Island.
Tosh's upbringing feels close to perfect: best friends, mischief and secondary school, just around the next corner. But when chronic illness strikes, it threatens to derail everything she loves.
Read the full description
A heart-rending graphic novel of discovery, adversity, and the overwhelming healing powers of imagination and stories.
Inspired by co-writer Linda's real-life childhood discovery of having Still's disease, a form of early-onset arthritis.
A book to remember for years . . . truthful and moving - Jacqueline Wilson
Praise for No Country written by Joe Brady & Patrice Aggs;
A stunning graphic novel with a powerful, poignant message - North Somerset Teacher's Book Award
A thought- and empathy-provoking comic - Three Peas (an organisation supporting refugees
Joe Brady collaborated with Linda to bring Tosh’s story to life as a comic in The Phoenix first, and now as a book. Other than Tosh’s Island , Joe has written a number of Phoenix comics including No Country (with Patrice Aggs) and Claire : Justice Ninja (with Kate Ashwin and Abby Bulmer). Joe loves working on stories that have a nugget of truth at their heart, and being allowed to share in Linda’s life story has been such an honour.
Some of the things that have happened to the “real” Tosh:
Picking flowers one summer in Finland, Sussex University for two degrees, teaching, learning, writing, telling stories, reading, selling ice creams and setting up a bookstall in a theatre. Learning to drive in a blue Mini named Mabel. Oh, and once sharing a lift with a Beefeater at a conference in the Tower of London…
And lots more, but most of all, talking and listening and sharing, having fun with the many friends along the way…
National Year of Reading - Author's Voices: Lucas Maxwell on Why Comic Books Count as Reading
40 Children's Books to Help Build Resilience, Develop Confidence and find the Courage to Bounce Back
Longlists Announced for the 2026 UKLA Book Awards
Jump into someone else’s story with the 2025 Read for Empathy collection from EmpathyLab
the best books for 9-12 year olds
Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir
The Sad Ghost Club Volume Two
The Girl Who Lost Her Shadow
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Tosh's Island and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
Tosh's Island features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Books of the Month, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators, Recommendations, Star Books, Stories about Family and Friends, PSHE: Health , Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), Graphic Novels & Comics, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Body and health, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children's and Young Adult Fiction
Paperback. £9.89, down from the £10.99 cover price. In Stock.
Tosh's Island was written by Linda Sargent & Joe Brady and published by David Fickling Books
Tosh's Island has 279 pages
Yes it is part of The Phoenix series
£9.89, reduced from £10.99. In Stock.
©PTC International Ltd T/A LoveReading is registered in England. Company number: 10193437. VAT number: 270 4538 09. Registered address: 157 Shooters Hill, London, SE18 3HP. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
The National Year of Reading starts here. Join thousands of families and schools supporting reading for pleasure across the UK.