Little Bones

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Little Bones by Sandy Bigma. University of Queensland Press 2025. Middle-Grade paperback, 288 pages. RRP $16.99. ISBN 978-0702268878

Reviewed by Debra Williams

Sandy Bigna is passionate about kids lit. She started Aussie Kids Books Instagram, which reviews Australian children’s and YA books. Little Bones is her debut novel.

The book is written in first person by eleven-year-old bones, known only by her nickname because she is fascinated with animal skeletons. Since her 9-year-old brother died in an accident, Bones has withdrawn into her own world, studying skeletons, sketching and spending most of her time alone, apart from the time spent with her Nonna.

After finding a small bird skeleton and bringing it home, she accidentally makes a wish aloud for the bird to be alive. The small bird indeed comes to life, but not life as it was. The bird becomes a living, talking skeleton. Bird wishes to be returned to its previously dead state, but Bones doesn’t know how to reverse the ‘magic’ she has created.

There appears to be a connection between her late brother, Nico, and a particular magical book he was obsessed with. When a new kid, Tenny, moves in next door, they buddy up with Bones and want to help. There is a plan made and an extended search for the missing book, eventually located in an old tree house.

What follows as Bones tries to restore what was, is an emotional roller-coaster, as memories of her brother’s death, repressed for almost 12 months, come back in spades. Now it is time for Bones to grieve for her brother properly, after finally being able to grant the dead bird’s wish, but along with the grief comes guilt.

 

This novel, written in verse prose, deals with the themes of grief, pain and loss, as Bones leaves her childhood behind in difficult circumstances.