Harklights by Tim Tilley
Big Book Award 2022 shortlister:
Wick has always lived in the dark and dreadful Harklights Match Factory and Orphanage, working tirelessly for greedy Old Ma Bogey. He only dreams of escaping, until one day a bird drops something impossible and magical at his feet – a tiny baby in an acorn cradle…
As midnight chimes, Wick is visited by the Hobs, miniature protectors of the forest. Grateful for the kindness shown to their stolen child, they offer Wick the chance of a lifetime – escape from Harklights and begin a new life with them in the wild…
Winner of the Joan Aiken Future Classics Prize, Harklights is a magical story celebrating family, friendship and the natural world, filled with a message of hope for our times.
Published by Usborne Books
About the author
Tim Tilley grew up on the outskirts of Leicester, and studied Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University and Central Saint Martins. He works as a freelance illustrator for editorial and design clients and teaches children’s book illustration at City Lit in London.
48 responses to “Harklights by Tim Tilley”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Registered Charity Number: 1120177
Website made by THE CURIOUS
I like Harklights because it has some action. I know that this book will win it is epic, scary and peaceful.
[SPOILER ALERT] I loved this book and I think it is going to be one of my favourites. I loved all the adventure and how Wick discovers he doesn’t need to be afraid of heights. I love that at the end old Ma Bogey falls down the well and is never to be seen again. The only bad thing is that I read it so quickly and did not have enough time to remember how it starts if I’m at the end. I loved this book well done Tim Tilly.
Harklights was by far my favourite book out of Harklights, No Country, The Small Things and Boy Who Met A Whale. It was so so funny when Padlock falls out of the cab in the machine /monster. There is nothing wrong with this book except that it needs a part 2 called Wick Returns.
I love this book I think that it is really well written. A summary of this book would be; in the brief time time before Wick’s escape it shows how mentally and physically gruelling packing matches is but I think that the book is quite dramatic and that nothing goes smoothly for Wick. There’s problem after problem but eventually it all works out and he and Petal and the rest of the orphans are safe from old Ma Bogey.
I loved this book because it was all about nature. The author was right
whatever size you are you can make a difference. This book made me feel like I was outdoors all the time and we have to realise nature is all around us .
A nice and cool book about nature. The start is about life in Harklights, a match factory and orphanage where the orphans are treated badly. Then he escapes into the forest and lives with mysterious creatures then they and Wick, the main character, set out to save the orphans and destroy the factory. A delightful book.
This is a fantastic book and it is really enjoyable. So far I am on chapter 5 and already interested. It I said really detailed and filled with nice photos. I recommend reading this book.
I enjoyed Harklights it is a very good book for magic and nature lovers and I think this book is very mysterious.
I love this book it has so many good features that make it a really good book and if you have a good friendship read Harklights!
Wow I really enjoyed Harklights as Wick proved himself as a team leader by going back to Harklights and freeing his fellow friends.
I love this book so much ,I love how it was so tense when Old Ma Bogey tried to shoot Wick and Petal.This book is an amazing book as it is magical and it is very close with nature.This book is the best and I give it 10/10!Please read Harklights as it is so good!
I have just finished this book and I really enjoyed it. It really is a thriller, fantasy book witch all of my class likes it.
I have just started this book and it is amazing!. I like the name Old Ma Bogey. I would recommend this book.
I haven’t read all of this yet but I find it really exciting
How does this book exist? it’s something from heaven. It’s the best book I have read in years. Please make a sequel
I like Harklights because it has adventure and magic. It is a fun and exiting book; I did not want to put it down. I would recommend this book for all age groups. I have nothing bad to say about this book
I think Harklights is a good book because even if you are an orphan doesn’t mean no one would like you.
I am enjoying this book very much. It’s a timeless story of family friendship and finding your place. It is so heart warming, yet so dramatic and mysterious. Tim Tilley did an exquisite job from the book cover to the illustration and of course the amazing story! I would definitely recommend this book to others, I couldn’t put it down. You should absolutely read and vote for this book.
Harklights was a good, emotional book with interesting and weird adventures. And at the end I really like it because it was action-packed.
Harklights is a one in a billion book yes it was the most incredible book I have read in a long time. It’s full of action and quite a bit of adventure and a large amount of magic. This book is so good it made me feel like I was actually inside the book itself. This book also has an amazing storyline and tale to it. Adding onto its amazing storyline and magic and loads more, the characters are also brilliant. Thank you so much this book is the best.
HARKLIGHTS is a good book because it looks so long but when you read it you zoom through it.
I love Harklights, it’s fabulous, exciting , catching and my favourite so I recommend it.
I loved this book, it was amazing. I love books with nature involved inside it. My favourite character is Nissa or Petal.
Harklights is a good book of adventure betrayal and missions. It’s very good . I didn’t want it to end. 👍
I think that Harklights is a fantastic book but, I think that it could have been split into two books because I started to lose interest towards the end. It was maybe a bit too long for me.
Harklights is a fabulous book with description blowing your mind and the outstanding vocabulary making you smarter every page you read! This book is even better for nature lovers which I am ( bonus ). Great book!!!!
Harklights is a incredibly gripping story with lots of magical twists and turns. You instantly love the characters and the storyline is perfect. The description is really engrossing and makes me feel like I’m there myself.
Happy reading 😂😊👌😍
This is a great book! I recommend it to nature lovers!😀
I was not a big fan of the book because it all happened too fast; he was in the orphanage then in this house? But I liked it anyways.
I really loved this book and it was very exciting when Wick went back with the Hobs to get rid of Old Ma Bogey and rescue all the other orphanss
I haven’t finished the book yet but so far it is great, I am really enjoying the part where he finally escapes the orphanage but it was sad how they left Petal behind, but overall I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to finish it!
I really liked Harklights. It is an excellent book. Harklights is a good for people that like books about magic and adventures. The story gets more interesting as you read on. I think the Hobs are really fun characters.
I loved Harklights too! I agree – the Hobs are lovely creatures. Simply magical!
I haven’t finished the book yet but so far it is amazing I love the twist that’s happened and I’m so determined to finish it .
This book was the best out of all six, the only competition is Twitch. Overall, it is such a good book and I give it a 10/10. I loved the ending so much!
Harklights
I loved Harklights! It is truly magical and the end is really gripping. I think the illustrations are beautiful and Tim Tilley is a really talented author and illustrator. If you’re looking for a book about nature and a little bit of wild magic, Harklights is the best book for you! I would say this is my favourite Bookfest book so far but I am really enjoying the other books this year. There is a great selection of books this year for the shortlist.
Happy reading everyone!
Harklights was ok.It was a bit boring in some parts but other than that it was ok.
It was an amazing book, how Harklights was so exciting was when wick showed up at Harklights matchmaking orphanage with the hobs to rescue the orphans.
This book was ok but it dragged on a bit .
So far in the book I have loved it. I am on page 211 and it’s been so magical and adventurous. I would recommend to all of the people who love adventures and mysteries.
I have not read it all yet but so far it is a very good book. It’s got lots of things happening, including all of the magic and adventures, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
We personally did not enjoy this book, we felt it was dragged a little bit (so it was a little boring). At the start you could not picture what the author was saying. We also could not picture what the characters looked like at the start. It did not have enough description about the characters. This book would be good for people who like mythical stories.
Even though I haven’t read Harklights I love the front cover. the gold and the green looks very mysterious
I haven’t really enjoyed this book I think it dragged a lot it just is not my kind of story. But if you like books about nature or magic this is the one for you!
I like Harklights, although, its not my favourite, the beginning is a bit slow, but, the end twist is amazing.
I was so determined to finish it
It enhances your brain with magical words and illustrations
The storyline was unexpected and intriguing