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By Genevieve Carver (author)
"A completely absorbing Stone Age adventure from an exciting new talent."
Paperback In Stock £7.99 £7.19
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June 2026 Debut of the Month
The Stone Age is a rich source for adventure stories for children’s authors – Michelle Paver , Sophie Kirtley , Alice Roberts come to mind – and Genevieve Carver’s debut joins the ranks of the best.
Little Meg has been chosen as the Sunhealer’s Shadow, set one day to explain the ways of the Spirits to her people. She loves the current Sunhealer who has cared for her since her parents drowned, but the honour has caused a rift between Meg and her sister, and with her best friend. The arrival of a stranger adds causes tension in the settlement.
Meg finds the girl washed up on the seashore. They’re the same age and their friendship develops even as the other members of the community grow more suspicious, willing to blame Kalø for the storms that are making their lives harder. It gets so bad that Meg decides to help Kalø return to her home, an island across the bay, despite the dangers.
The girls’ world and way of life is very well described, as are the relationships and the way people’s fear is exploited by those hungry for power. It all culminates in a confrontation at sea, particularly taut given these humans are in small boats stitched from animal skins. This is a completely absorbing adventure and Genevieve Carver an exciting new talent.
Friendship is tough in the Stone Age, especially when your best friend is part-Water Spirit…
Read the full description
In a pre-historic world where the spirits are fickle and the people are cautious, Little Meg is a Sunhealer's apprentice. She must learn to read the signs of nature and commune with the spirits to guide her people and keep them safe.
But when she keeps back the fingerbones of her deceased parents from a ritual, Little Meg knows that the resulting storm and the destruction it causes is entirely her fault.
As the rain clears, Meg discovers a strange girl washed up on the shore. Returning the girl to her island home is the only way to right her mistake and save her village.
What follows is an adventure across land and sea where friendships are tentatively made and generation-old legends are set right....
A letter from the author:
I am excited to introduce you to my children’s fiction debut The Ocean and the Bones.
I grew up in a family of archaeologists and spent every summer digging for clues in the dirt. This eventually led me to study archaeology at university, and what I was drawn to the most was prehistory; the time before written documents and paved streets and traffic lights, when the lives humans lived were so different – or were they?
I’ve always been interested in where we came from. I believe that learning more about our past can help us to challenge what we think we know and ultimately help us to treat each other better.
Although I love research, I found that I was being pulled in another direction; I wanted to write creatively, not just academically. I started writing poetry and for a while that took over. I left archaeology momentarily behind. But years later, I found I was being drawn back to prehistory.
Wherever I went, I’d seek out stone circles and long barrows and imagine the people that would have built and used them thousands of years ago. I work a lot with children, delivering creative writing and arts and crafts workshops, and I wanted to write something that would inspire the same intrigue and wonder in them.
At the same time, I was reflecting on similarities between ancient worlds like the one Meg and Kalø’s story is based on, and the world that young people live in today. Climate change is causing oceans to rise and weather to become more extreme and unpredictable. People are fighting hard for equality and inclusivity, but society is divided and many act with hatred and suspicion towards anybody seen as ‘other.’ But if you look back into the past, ideas about difference fall away.
Our ancestry is a patchwork of people who’ve been forever moving and mixing, and not that long ago, Britain wasn’t an island, but connected to mainland Europe by a bridge of land known as Doggerland. Climate change caused rising sea levels, which around 8000 years ago flooded that land and caused us to separate.
I began to wonder, what if a tiny island had remained long after the rest of Doggerland flooded, and a lost community was stranded there for generations? If a young girl from a faraway place was forced away from her home, how would the people of prehistoric ‘Britain’ treat her when she arrived on their shores?
I hope you enjoy Meg and Kalø’s story and would love to hear what you think.
'A dazzling read –this book transported me headlong into the Stone Age and returned me home with a bigger, warmer, wilder heart. A tenderly told adventure about opening your heart to strangers and accepting people for who they are - a tale for our age and all the ages.' Sophie Kirtley
'A rich and heart-warming adventure steeped in Stone Age history, while still telling a relatable, everyday story of understanding, friendship, and respect that children will recognise and love.' Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear
'Beautifully researched and imagined, inhabiting a liminal and long-forgotten space. Utterly compelling.' Zillah Bethell
'An outstanding and completely one-of-a-kind middle grade novel exploring the Neolithic Era through a compelling story of community, climate change and tradition.' Scope for Imagination
'Cleverly combine[s] an adventure story with a lot of non-fiction learning about the Stone Age... The strength of [Carver's] writing is that the story never becomes overburdened by these other intentions but is enriched by them. At times moving and literally poetic, Carver tells a great story with two strong and engaging characters.' Books for Keeps
Genevieve Carver is part writer, part Water Spirit. She is the author of three books of poetry and has written and performed her work in locations including disused factories, uninhabited islands and offshore windfarms. She previously worked as an archaeologist and holds an MA in European Prehistory from the University of Sheffield. Genevieve now lives in Aberdeen, where she regularly immerses herself in the North Sea. The Ocean and the Bones is her first novel.
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Friendship is tough in the Stone Age, especially when your best friend is part-Water Spirit… In a pre-historic world where the spirits are fickle and the people are cautious, Little Meg is a Sunhealer's apprentice. She must learn to read the signs of nature and commune with the spirits to guide her people and keep them safe.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Ocean and the Bones and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
The Ocean and the Bones features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Debuts of the Month, Recommendations, Star Books, Adventure Stories, Stories about Family and Friends, Fantasy / Magical, Historical Fiction, Romance / Relationship Stories, World Religions, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Magical realism / Magical fantasy, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Ancient religions, Mythology and legends, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Children’s / Teenage: General interest
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Ocean and the Bones was written by Genevieve Carver and published by Rock the Boat an imprint of Oneworld Publications
The Ocean and the Bones has 268 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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