Little Bones

Host Mia Henderson and young reader Gabriella discuss Little Bones with author Sandy Bigna.

Little Bones is Shortlisted for the 2026 CBCA Book of the Year Awards for Younger Readers.

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A unique and lyrical verse novel for middle-grade readers that speaks to our childhood joy of collecting small, intriguing objects and creating connections in the most unlikely places.

Since the death of her brother, eleven-year-old Bones spends her time drawing animal skeletons and scavenging for dead things to add to her collection. She's drifted away from her friends and doesn't want to make new ones, especially not with her chatty new neighbour, Tenny.

One night, under a full moon, Bones accidentally resurrects the skeleton of a baby bird. Bird wants to return to his natural (dead) state, so Bones agrees to reverse the curse - not that she knows how. As she and Bird work out the secrets of the magic, Bones remembers what it's like to have a friend. How can she let Bird go when she doesn't want to say goodbye?

With gorgeous greyscale illustrations of Bones's collected items scattered throughout, this book is perfect for big-hearted readers of Karen Foxlee and Zana Fraillon.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Welcome to our very own Shadow Judging podcast where we will celebrate young voices who are responding to one of the 2026 shortlisted books in the Young Reader category. Today we're talking to Sandy Bigner, author of the verse novel Little Bones. Since the death of her brother, 11-year-old Bones spends her time during animal skeletons and scavenging for dead things to add to her collection. She's gifted away from her friends and she doesn't want to make new ones, especially not with her chatty new neighbour Tenny. A unique and lyrical verse novel for middle grade readers that speaks to our childhood joy of collecting small, intriguing objects and creating connections to the most unlikely places. Our reader today is Gabriella from Tasmania. Would you like to show your thoughts about the book, Gabriella?

SPEAKER_01 1:02

Thank you. Well, to be honest, I probably wouldn't have read Little Bones if not for this podcast. Um because the main theme in the book is that Bones has lost a little brother, Nico, and I have a brother who I'm very close with, so I don't often like to think about ever losing him. So when reading or buying a book, which I do a lot, I usually stay away from those things. But I'm very glad I did read the book. This book was also my first first novel. I think the poetic writing story really added to the book because it enabled the readers to connect with um the character's thoughts and feelings on a deeper and more descriptive level. Uh I also think that the book would be very irony to anyone who has lost someone close because after losing Nico, going to shut everyone else out in her life. Because she thinks if she doesn't have anyone else in her life, she can't lose anyone again. Which is obviously very like unhealthy but also very common for someone to do when they're going through grief. And I think it's important that people like realise that because they might not even know that they are shutting people out. Um the illustrations that were also added to some of the pages really helped to bring the story to life because it um it helped like it paired well with the poetic writing style that was quite descriptive, and then the drawings were very detailed so you're able to put them all together and see how like the descriptions match the drawings. Thank you. This book also made me cry, which I read a lot of books and I don't often cry in it, but yeah, so good job, Sandy.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

Sandy, what's your insight on uh Gabriella's author response?

SPEAKER_00 2:45

Oh Gabby, that was lovely um to hear your thoughts about little bones. And um, a few readers have told me that the book has made them cry, and they don't usually cry when they read a book, and um, you know, I don't love the thought of people crying, but at the same time, um, I think it shows that you're invested in the book when you shed some tears at the end, and you're invested in the character and the stories. So, um, from that perspective, uh the thoughts that you have expressed have made me so happy, and also I love the drawings. So, Tam Tiao did the drawings and amazing illustrator. So, I'm so glad that you noticed those as well, and that they reflect the story, and um, I think they're beautifully placed and really enhance the story. Um, so yeah, it was really lovely to hear your thoughts and your responses, and um, you know, you're sort of feeling empathy for Bones and the grief that she's going through, and that's exactly what I wanted. So, yeah, thank you so much, Gabby.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Sandy, I thought the cover was very fitting for this novel. Did you have any input on this design as you first came across it?

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Authors don't often get a lot of input to the cover, but what we do get is a bit of a preview of some of the different designs. So, like I said, my illustrator's name is Pam, and she sent through a couple of different uh designs for the cover. They were all absolutely stunning. It was really difficult to choose, but uh I spoke to my publisher, and you know, the publisher has really great ideas about what is going to sell well and what looks the best. So together we decided on the cover that was eventually chosen. I'm so happy that we chose that cover. I think, as you say, it's quite striking, it really catches your eye. I think you know, it's the sort of cover that if you see it in a bookshop, you might be tempted to pick it up. It looks kind of intriguing. So yeah, I'm really happy with with how it turned out. And it was really lovely to also be able to have a little bit of a say in uh, you know, which one was eventually selected as well.

SPEAKER_02 4:57

Gabby, what are some of your questions for Sandy?

SPEAKER_01 4:59

What was your inspiration for little bones? Was it inspired by a personal experience or an idea?

SPEAKER_00 5:06

So, you know what? It was a little bit of both. So, um, from a personal perspective, I've always had this fascination with animal bones and for the people who do collect them. I know it's a little bit quirky, but I think it's because, you know, bones on the inside of us, right? Like we don't get to see them. So there's something a bit mysterious, a bit secretive about them. And I remember when I was growing up, when I was a child, and my sister found this little dead lizard in the driveway. And she said, Oh, come and see I guess this lizard, and you can see its bones and it's really disgusting. And I said, Oh, great, wait, I'm going to get my camera and take a picture. And she's like, That's so weird. Why would you do that? But I think I was just really fascinated that you got this glimpse of something that you don't usually get to see, right? Um, and for me, I started imagining, oh, what might this lizard have um, you know, what might its life have been like before it died, and what are all the sorts of things this lizard might have done? So for me, you know, the animal bones told a story of life rather than death. So I think it was this initial fascination that, you know, inspired the theme of bones and collecting. I also loved collecting things when I was a child. I don't know if you collect things, but I love hearing what people collect. I collected, you know, some of the things the bones like to collect, like feathers, shells, leaves. Do you have any collections?

SPEAKER_01 6:29

I used to collect like seashells that we would go like when we go to the trees.

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Yeah, same. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's so fun to collect these things, right? Um, and I love hearing what other people collect. And I think that's sort of my childhood love of collecting really inspired, you know, Bones' love of collecting as well. Another thing is that I love spooky stories. Um, like not too scary. I don't like being terrifying, but I do love, you know, like the goosebumps kind of ghost stories. Halloween's my favourite time of year. You? You agree? Yeah, a little bit. Um, I think it's just, yeah, it's those spooky kind of magical vibes. And I always knew I wanted to write a story with those kind of, you know, just a little bit of magic. I like magic set in the real world. So, and you know, as you noticed, Bones brings to life the skeleton of a small bird, and the birds start speaking to her. So it's a little, it's called magical realism. It's just a little bit of magic set in a real world. I loved those sorts of books growing up. So I think that definitely inspired, you know, some of the ideas and themes of Little Bones as well.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

When I was reading the book, I was surprised that it was your debut novel because the writing has so much depth and experience to it. Have you published any other work?

SPEAKER_00 7:46

Well, thank you for saying that, Gabby. That's um such kind words and such a lovely thing for a debut author to hear. So I did want to thank you for that. This is my first traditionally published book. Uh, but having said that, I have been writing since I was about five years old. So I've had lots of time to work on and refine my craft. And like with anything, it's about practicing and practicing and doing it over and over again, and that's what helps us become good at something. So, whether you play a sport, a musical instrument, um, whether you dance or draw, whatever your passion is, right? You've got to work at it, and that's what um you know helps you get better and better. So I did have some short stories published when I was at high school and then at university, but my real dream was to have a full novel published. What I can tell you is I had a lot of rejections. And it is quite hard, I have to say, when you've invested yourself in something. It's quite personal when you make art, right? Even if you do a drawing or poem or singing, anything like that, and you're told it's not quite good enough. It's difficult not to get a bit disheartened at times, but the trick is obviously not to give up, right? So I kept on writing because I love it so much. And I think I would have kept writing, even if a publisher had said, look, you know what, we're never going to publish this stuff. I'm like, yep, that's okay. I'm just gonna keep writing because I love doing it. Still kept that dream inside of me, though, to be published. And eventually an amazing publisher said, Yes, they wanted to publish my book, which became Little Bones. And that was an extremely exciting moment for me.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Thank you, Andy. Seeing the audience for this podcast are younger readers and writers, have you always wanted to be an author from even a young age?

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah, look, you know what? As soon as I learnt um basically how to pick up a pencil and write words with it, I knew I wanted to be an author. It was also that I loved reading. So it was this combination of loving books, uh, loving writing, and wanting to uh make a book like the authors that I loved when I was growing up. So it's been a dream of mine, you know, since I was very young. I have exercise books filled with all my scribbles and poetry. And, you know, I used to do little illustrations as well. I'm not an artist, so that kind of things never went anywhere, but that's okay because there's so many amazing artists out there. But yeah, it's been a dream I've had for a long time, which is why I say to people, you know, don't give up on that dream. I was, you know, like I said, five years old, and you know, it took a long time to get my first story published, but it eventually happened. So I would say just one important thing to do as well as practice in your writing is to read. Like just read everything you can. It sounds like you two are both avid readers, which is amazing. And I really encourage, you know, all kids to just pick up books and read in all different genres as well.

SPEAKER_02 10:53

Gabby, have you got any final questions for Sandy? Um, yes, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

In the book, the main character is only ever referred to as her nickname, Bones. When writing the book, did you ever think about giving Bones a birth name?

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Look, that's such a great question, and the answer is yes. I did sometimes consider including Bones' actual birth name, but then I decided not to, and the main reason I think is I just couldn't land on one that felt right for her. Uh, Bones just seemed to suit her so completely, and not just for the obvious reason that you know she collects animal bones, so she must be called bones, but I think also it encompasses her character and her personality. So I feel like the name Bones is quite symbolic of how she was feeling and what she was going through throughout the story. And like Bones, you know, she's quite fragile, but she's also quite strong, right? Like she has this hidden sort of courage and resilience that comes out as the story progresses. And something interesting I learnt about uh Bones, I did some research about Bones for the book, is that our actual bones are always changing and renewing themselves. Um, and I feel like this really reflects Bones' character arc and her journey throughout the story. Yeah, but I'm really interested in what readers think about this because I couldn't think of a name. So can you think of a name that would suit Bones? Like I'm always interested to ask people what the name they would pick for Bones that would suit her character. So if you have any thoughts, I'm happy to heave.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Yeah, I think it gives her a more mysterious vibe that it doesn't, that she doesn't give it because it it says that um the bully at the school just gave her the nickname and then everyone kind of follows. So then I feel like it's nice though to show that she didn't want she didn't care that it came from her, she just adopted it as her own name.

SPEAKER_00 12:53

Yeah, exactly. Like I think that was really strong of her to say, you know what, I do love bones and collecting animal bones, and that's my thing. I'm gonna claim this as my own, and I think that gave her a certain power over her bully. And yeah, you're spot on, that's a great observation. I think um it does make us seem a bit more mysterious as well, and um, you know, she really came into that name, I think, as the story progressed.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

Thank you so much for your questions, Gabriella, and thank you for such a beautiful book, Sandy. Oh, thank you so much, me and Gabby. It was lovely chatting with you.