Toby Fletcher's Fly-Away Tree

TOBY FLETCHER’S FLY-AWAY TREE. Book One: THE SONGSHELL TRUTHS.   

Toby Fletcher’s Fly-Away Tree is a children’s story in the true ‘Once Upon a Time’ tradition. It sits comfortably alongside The Lord of The Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and more recently, His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. Having said that, Toby Fletcher’s Fly-Away Tree is set in today’s world and is therefore current. It is an imaginative, fast paced, page turner of an adventure that keeps the reader wanting to know more. The reader will feel uplifted after reading the story, and will be inspired by the gentle messages in the book.

Ten year old TOBY FLETCHER is being bullied at school by two boys: MARK VARNEY and DAVID RIMMER. Toby takes refuge in his hobby, bird watching, and when the bullies hurt a young blackbird, he dares to rescue it. He takes the injured bird home and places the creature in the safety of the apple tree in his garden. This kind act turns what was an ordinary tree into a magical Fly-Away Tree, a tree with extraordinary powers. Toby finds he can understand what RUFUS BLACKBIRD is saying, and Rufus is able to teach Toby how to change into a bird. Toby chooses to be a goldfinch. Toby’s sister, ISOBEL, also goes through this change-over process.  She decides to be a blackbird like Rufus. Varney and Rimmer, having spied on the Fletcher children, see them shape-shift. They pretend to befriend Toby and persuade him to let them go into the woodland as birds too. The two bullies choose to become starlings. The four children are soon plunged into a magical, woodland adventure, and find themselves involved in a quest to help their new found feathered friends, Rufus, and a robin called SHARI, overcome their enemies: TIAD SWIFT and ALMEENA MAGPIE. 

Imagine flying free like a bird. Imagine changing into a bird then back into your own body at will. This is exactly what happens to Toby Fletcher. And when the Fly-Away Tree transports Toby and his sister into the mysterious world of Avia, the pair are plunged into a fast paced woodland adventure, and into great danger, with consequences reaching far beyond the world of birds. Brimming with an excitement that leaps from the page, Toby Fletcher’s Fly-Away Tree is a story for children aged 7 – 12 years of age.

This is a highly imaginative novel which sees Toby Fletcher discovering the special qualities of the tree in his garden when he rescues a blackbird and gains access to a parallel universe. The real world and Avia become tangled when Toby’s sister is captured by the evil Almeena Magpie, and the fact that Toby’s bullies get their comeuppance when they are pulled into the action is a satisfying twist. Readers will enjoy hearing about the different species of birds in Avia – particularly the starling law enforcers! The narrative is injected with a good dose of action and adventure.

What children say about TOBY FLETCHER – THE SONGSHELL TRUTHS:

Lauren: “My favourite character is Toby. I felt really sorry for him when he was being bullied.” 

Duncan:  “I love the way the author always leaves me wanting to know more at the end of each chapter.”

Yasmin: “When I read the first page I got a tear in my eye because the story is so good.” Mark: “When I finished reading the first chapter I was engrossed. The Fly-Away Tree is really mystical and exciting.”