Published by FIrefly Press 2021
ISBN 9781913102685
“Turn the key!”
Nia hesitated. Then she took hold of the key with her gloved fingers and wrenched it round. She opened the lid.
Inside she saw the most amazing creature. He was tiny. His face was wizened and old,but mostly what she could see was hair. Long yellow hair that tangled round and round him like clothes. As if it had grown for centuries!
For a second he lay quite still, looking up at her, blinking. He held up a tiny hand.
“Get me out.”
From Nettle
The Red Gloves and Other Stories is a beautifully presented hardback containing nine stories of magic and secrecy, dreams and drama, for Middle Grade readers who enjoy spookiness and intriguing ideas. Many of the stories are based on myth and folklore, re-told or re-explored. Some are reprinted here, others are new.
The Silver Road
Two brothers dream the same dream, but one gets lost in its enchantments. Can he be rescued?
The Red Gloves
They only cost a pound, but are they writing the nasty messages left around the house? And what else might they do?
The Hare
Searching for his mother’s ring, Owain finds a strange object in the ancient burial mound. But what if its owner wants it back?
The Changing Room
A room in an old sports centre, where you don’t just change your clothes, but your whole life.
Sgilti Lightfoot
When king Arthur gives you the order to climb a mysterious tower with a man called the Spider, you have to do it. Even in the Dark.
The Mirror
Daniel can see a bird in the depths of the mirror, though no-one else can. Finally it struggles free. And now it’s inside him.
Nettle
The little creature she releases promises Nia anything she wants. But his promises are sly and his gifts are dangerous, and how can she get out of her agreement with him?
Not Such a Bad Thing
Jack steals a story for his homework, but when his teacher enters it for a competition, it wins. Everyone reads it. And now he really is in trouble..
Ghost in the Rain
A ghost haunts the garden where Sarah comes each summer, because someone once drowned in the well there. But this ghost is a child who wants to play.
REVIEWS
‘Fear often has its roots in familiarity and this great collection of nine creepy stories exploits that fact by having just enough relatable, real-life content to make them almost believable. A masterful mix of truth and the supernatural will leave readers feeling discomfited and looking over their shoulders for whatever it is they can’t see.’
– BookTrust.
‘Catherine Fisher remains supremely able at injecting her own particular brand of menacing fantasy even into the shortest of stories… In every case she creates a fictional world like ours in many ways but also capable of suddenly seeming alarming at the turn of a page.’
– Books For Keeps.
‘Although, as usual, any adult could read these with pleasure, it is important to bear the target audience in mind; the way Nia outwits Nettle is a very old folk-tale trope and most adults would see it coming, but a child reader might well be meeting it for the first time. I doubt, however, that many readers of any age would manage to predict the killer ending of Ghost in the Rain .
– Sheenagh Pugh
‘I can’t imagine a better story to read in the Hallowe’en season, at least if you are over 10 years old. The stories are deliciously spooky in the very best way – clever and shivery and haunting, often tied beautifully into the darker edges of Welsh mythology or legends… the best MG collection I’ve read in a long time.. I absolutely loved it. And the hardcover edition is a real work of art in itself.’
– Amazon review.
‘A spell-binding collection.’
– Literary Review.