A Monster Calls
A Monster Calls is a low fantasy novel written for young adults by Patrick Ness (from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd) illustrated by Jim Kay and published by Walker in 2011. Set in present-day England, it features a boy who struggles to cope with the consequences of his mother's illness. He is repeatedly visited in the middle of the night by a monster who tells stories. Dowd was terminally ill with cancer when she came up with the idea for the story, and died before she could write it.
First edition cover | |
| Author | Patrick Ness |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Jim Kay |
| Cover artist | Jim Kay |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Walker Books |
Publication date | 5 May 2011 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 214 pp (first edition) 152 pp (pdf edition) |
| ISBN | 978-1-4063-1152-5 |
| OCLC | 754586643 |
| LC Class | PZ7.N43843 Mok 2011 |
Ness and Kay respectively won the Carnegie Medal and the Greenaway Medal in 2012, the "year's best" children's literary awards by the British librarians (CILIP). A Monster Calls is the only book to have won both awards.
The novel was adapted into the 2016 film of the same name.