David Gilbert

Silver Serpent and the Wild Ice Child

Silver Serpent and the Wild Ice Child is a middle-grade historical fiction novel for readers aged 8-12, blending adventure, history, imagination, and gentle humour.When a chronicler is drawn into the pages of a mysterious book and transformed into a kestrel, he finds himself soaring above an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon monastery near what is now Cookham Abbey. From the skies, he observes a world shaped by loyalty, belief, rivalry, and the weight of inherited conflicts.Across eleven interconnected chapters rooted in the Saxon age, the story follows a girl who can speak with animals and a boy raised to believe revenge against historic enemies is his duty. As friendship, kindness, and shared experience begin to challenge old divisions, the boy is forced to question what he has been taught and decide who he wants to become.Inspired by real archaeological discoveries and grounded in a strong sense of place, the novel explores inclusion, moral choice, empathy, and the power of friendship. With moments of warmth and humour, including mischievous ghostly characters, it is well suited to libraries, schools, classroom reading, and bookshops.