The Bone Sparrow

A Refugee Novel

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

£0.00 for first 30 days

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Get 3 months for £0.99/mo

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.

Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.

1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.

Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.

Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.

Access exclusive sales and deals.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Bone Sparrow

By: Zana Fraillon

Narrated by: Gareth Locke

Get this deal

Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £7.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction prize 2016.

Perfect for fans of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

This is a beautiful, vivid and deeply moving story about a refugee boy who has spent his entire life living in a detention centre. This novel reminds us all of the importance of freedom, hope and the power of a story to speak for anyone who's ever struggled to find a safe home.

Born in a refugee camp, all Subhi knows of the world is that he's at least 19 fence diamonds high, the nice Jackets never stay long, and at night he dreams that the sea finds its way to his tent, bringing with it unusual treasures. And one day it brings him Jimmie.

Carrying a notebook that she's unable to read and wearing a sparrow made out of bone around her neck - both talismans of her family's past and the mother she's lost - Jimmie strikes up an unlikely friendship with Subhi beyond the fence. As he reads aloud the tale of how Jimmie's family came to be, both children discover the importance of their own stories in writing their futures.

Zana FraillonGareth LockeHachette Children's Group

Fiction

Geography & Cultures

Growing Up

Growing Up & Facts of Life

Literature & Fiction

Oceania

Friendship

Feel-Good

Fiction Geography & Cultures Growing Up Growing Up & Facts of Life Literature & Fiction Oceania Friendship Feel-Good

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Less You Know The Sounder You Sleep cover art

An Inspector Calls (Classic Radio Theatre) cover art

Critic reviews

"...a special book." (Morris Gleitzman, author of the acclaimed Once series)

Most relevant

I did a mix of reading and listening to this story, with a fair chunk of time wrestling with my social conscious. Whilst terrible injustices, it is a balance between those persecuted and those just seeking economic advancements. I do hope this book turns a light on the fair treatment of all, with a change to swift and supportive decision making. Would love to know what happens next.