Red Sky in the Morning
Encyclopedia
Red Sky in the Morning is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Laird
, first published in 1988. The American title is Loving Ben.
. At first it is very hard for Anna to cope with this new situation, but she really loves Ben and does her best to take care of him. At school she has problems explaining to people what is wrong with her brother, because she thinks that they will not understand and she doesn't want their sympathy.
Soon, after Ben 'meets' Anna's school-mate, Miranda, for the first time, the word of him being disabled quickly spreads to the rest of Anna's classmates. Instead of getting angry Anna tells them how Ben really is and invites her friends to meet him and it turns out they love him almost as much as she does. The book centres on the difficulty faced by Anna and her family in dealing with Ben's disability and later coming to terms with losing him and trying to move on with their lives.
• Shortlisted for the Children's Book Award
Elizabeth Laird
Elizabeth Laird is an author of many books for children, including picture books and books for older children. Her novels include Red Sky in the Morning, Secrets of the Fearless and Kiss the Dust.-Biography:...
, first published in 1988. The American title is Loving Ben.
Plot
Anna is very excited when her parents announce to her that they are having a baby. She sees this as her big chance to show that she is grown-up and can take care of the family. But Ben's birth is overshadowed by the fact that he is born with hydrocephalusHydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus , also known as "water in the brain," is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. This may cause increased intracranial pressure inside the skull and progressive enlargement of the head,...
. At first it is very hard for Anna to cope with this new situation, but she really loves Ben and does her best to take care of him. At school she has problems explaining to people what is wrong with her brother, because she thinks that they will not understand and she doesn't want their sympathy.
Soon, after Ben 'meets' Anna's school-mate, Miranda, for the first time, the word of him being disabled quickly spreads to the rest of Anna's classmates. Instead of getting angry Anna tells them how Ben really is and invites her friends to meet him and it turns out they love him almost as much as she does. The book centres on the difficulty faced by Anna and her family in dealing with Ben's disability and later coming to terms with losing him and trying to move on with their lives.
The Inspiration
Elizabeth Laird wrote Red Sky in the Morning because of her little brother Alastair and as Laird says on her website "Everything that happened to Ben in the story happened to Alastair. The other characters - Anna, Katy, Anna's school friends and her mum and dad - are all made up, but Ben is as true to Alastair as I could make him."Awards and nominations
• Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal• Shortlisted for the Children's Book Award