Read Donegal

Last year, we were delighted to welcome author Stewart Foster for the closing ceremony at Glenveagh national park. Thank you to everyone who took part and made the event so special!

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Based on an original concept by author Siobhan Dowd, the story is about a boy who is struggling to come to terms with his mother’s terminal illness. Unexpectedly,  he is visited one night by a monster, asking if he can tell him three stories. In return, he wants the most dangerous thing of all from Connor: the truth.

Patrick Ness and the book’s illustrator Jim Kay won the Carnegie and Greenaway Medals for writing and illustration, making history with this unprecedented win.

A Monster Calls also won the British Children’s Book of the Year, the Red House Children’s Book Award, a national award voted by British children; and the Kitschies Red Tentacle award. In the U.S., the American Library Association magazine Booklist named it the “Top of the List” for 2011 youth fiction.

We were very lucky to have a special message sent to us by Patrick Ness; it was shown to our delighted readers for the closing ceremony in 2018. You can watch it online here!

Advice and Support: A Monster Calls tells the story of  a young boy coming to terms with his mother’s terminal illness. Click on the link above for resources, advice and support for anyone who may have been affected by the themes presented in this book. 

Registration for Read DL 2025 is now closed, but don’t worry you can still get involved! Just call into your local county library to borrow a book.