In nineteenth-century Great Britain, Joe Sowerby looks after his strange little sister, Annie, at the workhouse and throughout their escape from an abusive farm placement until he leaves her with a circus to make his way to industrial Manchester. As Annie and Joe walk the Whispering Road, they are helped by a friendly tramp and a mysterious dog-woman. They are finally reunited thanks to a renegade printer working for better conditions for the poor. The book is a fast-paced Dickensian adventure with generous helpings of violence and old-time religion organized tidily into episodes just right for reading aloud. 2006 USBBY-CBC Outstanding International Books List, 2005 Nestlé Children’s Book Prize Shortlist (9–11 years). kti, djg

Originally published by Puffin Great Britain, in 2005.

A moving and powerful story about brother and sister, Joe and Annie, who flee from a pitiful existence as servants. They embark on a tough and perilous journey to Manchester in search of their mother who was forced to leave them at the workhouse when they were very young. Their future is tainted by the horrors of their past and as Annie is increasingly troubled by spirits, Joe is forced to make a tough decision. Driven by the lust for freedom, he sells Annie to a fair owner who plans to use her as a medium, and sets about creating a new identity for himself on the streets of Manchester. But the voices of the past won't leave Joe alone and ultimately he finds himself gravitating back to Annie and their original quest to discover the whereabouts of their mother.