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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.
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Today we're talking to Sandy Bigner, author of the verse novel Little Bones.
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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.
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She's gifted away from her friends and she doesn't want to make new ones, especially not with her chatty new neighbour Tenny.
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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 to the most unlikely places.
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Our reader today is Gabriella from Tasmania.
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Would you like to show your thoughts about the book, Gabriella?
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Thank you.
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Well, to be honest, I probably wouldn't have read Little Bones if not for this podcast.
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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.
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So when reading or buying a book, which I do a lot, I usually stay away from those things.
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But I'm very glad I did read the book.
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This book was also my first first novel.
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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.
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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.
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Because she thinks if she doesn't have anyone else in her life, she can't lose anyone again.
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Which is obviously very like unhealthy but also very common for someone to do when they're going through grief.
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And I think it's important that people like realise that because they might not even know that they are shutting people out.
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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.
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Thank you.
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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.
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Sandy, what's your insight on uh Gabriella's author response?
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Oh Gabby, that was lovely um to hear your thoughts about little bones.
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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.
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So, um, from that perspective, uh the thoughts that you have expressed have made me so happy, and also I love the drawings.
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So, Tam Tiao did the drawings and amazing illustrator.
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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.
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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.
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So, yeah, thank you so much, Gabby.
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Sandy, I thought the cover was very fitting for this novel.
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Did you have any input on this design as you first came across it?
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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.
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So, like I said, my illustrator's name is Pam, and she sent through a couple of different uh designs for the cover.
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They were all absolutely stunning.
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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.
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So together we decided on the cover that was eventually chosen.
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I'm so happy that we chose that cover.
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I think, as you say, it's quite striking, it really catches your eye.
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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.
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It looks kind of intriguing.
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So yeah, I'm really happy with with how it turned out.
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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.
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Gabby, what are some of your questions for Sandy?
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What was your inspiration for little bones?
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Was it inspired by a personal experience or an idea?
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So, you know what?
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It was a little bit of both.
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So, um, from a personal perspective, I've always had this fascination with animal bones and for the people who do collect them.
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I know it's a little bit quirky, but I think it's because, you know, bones on the inside of us, right?
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Like we don't get to see them.
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So there's something a bit mysterious, a bit secretive about them.
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And I remember when I was growing up, when I was a child, and my sister found this little dead lizard in the driveway.
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And she said, Oh, come and see I guess this lizard, and you can see its bones and it's really disgusting.
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And I said, Oh, great, wait, I'm going to get my camera and take a picture.
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And she's like, That's so weird.
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Why would you do that?
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But I think I was just really fascinated that you got this glimpse of something that you don't usually get to see, right?
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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?
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So for me, you know, the animal bones told a story of life rather than death.
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So I think it was this initial fascination that, you know, inspired the theme of bones and collecting.
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I also loved collecting things when I was a child.
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I don't know if you collect things, but I love hearing what people collect.
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I collected, you know, some of the things the bones like to collect, like feathers, shells, leaves.
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Do you have any collections?
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I used to collect like seashells that we would go like when we go to the trees.
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Yeah, same.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah, yeah.
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It's so fun to collect these things, right?
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Um, and I love hearing what other people collect.
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And I think that's sort of my childhood love of collecting really inspired, you know, Bones' love of collecting as well.
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Another thing is that I love spooky stories.
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Um, like not too scary.
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I don't like being terrifying, but I do love, you know, like the goosebumps kind of ghost stories.
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Halloween's my favourite time of year.
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You?
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You agree?
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Yeah, a little bit.
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Um, I think it's just, yeah, it's those spooky kind of magical vibes.
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And I always knew I wanted to write a story with those kind of, you know, just a little bit of magic.
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I like magic set in the real world.
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So, and you know, as you noticed, Bones brings to life the skeleton of a small bird, and the birds start speaking to her.
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So it's a little, it's called magical realism.
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It's just a little bit of magic set in a real world.
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I loved those sorts of books growing up.
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So I think that definitely inspired, you know, some of the ideas and themes of Little Bones as well.
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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.
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Have you published any other work?
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Well, thank you for saying that, Gabby.
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That's um such kind words and such a lovely thing for a debut author to hear.
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So I did want to thank you for that.
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This is my first traditionally published book.
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Uh, but having said that, I have been writing since I was about five years old.
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So I've had lots of time to work on and refine my craft.
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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.
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So, whether you play a sport, a musical instrument, um, whether you dance or draw, whatever your passion is, right?
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You've got to work at it, and that's what um you know helps you get better and better.
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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.
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What I can tell you is I had a lot of rejections.
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And it is quite hard, I have to say, when you've invested yourself in something.
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It's quite personal when you make art, right?
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Even if you do a drawing or poem or singing, anything like that, and you're told it's not quite good enough.
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It's difficult not to get a bit disheartened at times, but the trick is obviously not to give up, right?
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So I kept on writing because I love it so much.
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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.
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I'm like, yep, that's okay.
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I'm just gonna keep writing because I love doing it.
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Still kept that dream inside of me, though, to be published.
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And eventually an amazing publisher said, Yes, they wanted to publish my book, which became Little Bones.
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And that was an extremely exciting moment for me.
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Thank you, Andy.
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Seeing the audience for this podcast are younger readers and writers, have you always wanted to be an author from even a young age?
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Yeah, look, you know what?
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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.
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It was also that I loved reading.
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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.
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So it's been a dream of mine, you know, since I was very young.
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I have exercise books filled with all my scribbles and poetry.
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And, you know, I used to do little illustrations as well.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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So I would say just one important thing to do as well as practice in your writing is to read.
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Like just read everything you can.
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It sounds like you two are both avid readers, which is amazing.
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And I really encourage, you know, all kids to just pick up books and read in all different genres as well.
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Gabby, have you got any final questions for Sandy?
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Um, yes, thank you.
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In the book, the main character is only ever referred to as her nickname, Bones.
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When writing the book, did you ever think about giving Bones a birth name?
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Look, that's such a great question, and the answer is yes.
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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.
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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.
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So I feel like the name Bones is quite symbolic of how she was feeling and what she was going through throughout the story.
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And like Bones, you know, she's quite fragile, but she's also quite strong, right?
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Like she has this hidden sort of courage and resilience that comes out as the story progresses.
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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.
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Um, and I feel like this really reflects Bones' character arc and her journey throughout the story.
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Yeah, but I'm really interested in what readers think about this because I couldn't think of a name.
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So can you think of a name that would suit Bones?
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Like I'm always interested to ask people what the name they would pick for Bones that would suit her character.
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So if you have any thoughts, I'm happy to heave.
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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.
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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.
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Yeah, exactly.
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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.
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I'm gonna claim this as my own, and I think that gave her a certain power over her bully.
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And yeah, you're spot on, that's a great observation.
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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.
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Thank you so much for your questions, Gabriella, and thank you for such a beautiful book, Sandy.
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Oh, thank you so much, me and Gabby.
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It was lovely chatting with you.
00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:24.960
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.
00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:30.079
Today we're talking to Sandy Bigner, author of the verse novel Little Bones.
00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:38.079
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.
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:45.200
She's gifted away from her friends and she doesn't want to make new ones, especially not with her chatty new neighbour Tenny.
00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:56.079
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.
00:00:56.320 --> 00:00:59.200
Our reader today is Gabriella from Tasmania.
00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:01.759
Would you like to show your thoughts about the book, Gabriella?
00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:03.280
Thank you.
00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:08.079
Well, to be honest, I probably wouldn't have read Little Bones if not for this podcast.
00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:18.079
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.
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So when reading or buying a book, which I do a lot, I usually stay away from those things.
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But I'm very glad I did read the book.
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This book was also my first first novel.
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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.
00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:49.519
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.
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Because she thinks if she doesn't have anyone else in her life, she can't lose anyone again.
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Which is obviously very like unhealthy but also very common for someone to do when they're going through grief.
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And I think it's important that people like realise that because they might not even know that they are shutting people out.
00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:32.800
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.
00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:33.599
Thank you.
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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.
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Sandy, what's your insight on uh Gabriella's author response?
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Oh Gabby, that was lovely um to hear your thoughts about little bones.
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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.
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So, um, from that perspective, uh the thoughts that you have expressed have made me so happy, and also I love the drawings.
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So, Tam Tiao did the drawings and amazing illustrator.
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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.
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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.
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So, yeah, thank you so much, Gabby.
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Sandy, I thought the cover was very fitting for this novel.
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Did you have any input on this design as you first came across it?
00:03:55.120 --> 00:04:04.560
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.
00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:13.520
So, like I said, my illustrator's name is Pam, and she sent through a couple of different uh designs for the cover.
00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:15.919
They were all absolutely stunning.
00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:28.319
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.
00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:32.959
So together we decided on the cover that was eventually chosen.
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I'm so happy that we chose that cover.
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I think, as you say, it's quite striking, it really catches your eye.
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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.
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It looks kind of intriguing.
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So yeah, I'm really happy with with how it turned out.
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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.
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Gabby, what are some of your questions for Sandy?
00:04:59.839 --> 00:05:02.160
What was your inspiration for little bones?
00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:05.360
Was it inspired by a personal experience or an idea?
00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:06.879
So, you know what?
00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:08.399
It was a little bit of both.
00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:15.839
So, um, from a personal perspective, I've always had this fascination with animal bones and for the people who do collect them.
00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:20.639
I know it's a little bit quirky, but I think it's because, you know, bones on the inside of us, right?
00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:22.240
Like we don't get to see them.
00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:26.480
So there's something a bit mysterious, a bit secretive about them.
00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:33.839
And I remember when I was growing up, when I was a child, and my sister found this little dead lizard in the driveway.
00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:39.680
And she said, Oh, come and see I guess this lizard, and you can see its bones and it's really disgusting.
00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:43.360
And I said, Oh, great, wait, I'm going to get my camera and take a picture.
00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:45.360
And she's like, That's so weird.
00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:46.560
Why would you do that?
00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:52.560
But I think I was just really fascinated that you got this glimpse of something that you don't usually get to see, right?
00:05:52.800 --> 00:06:05.040
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?
00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:09.759
So for me, you know, the animal bones told a story of life rather than death.
00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:15.360
So I think it was this initial fascination that, you know, inspired the theme of bones and collecting.
00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.920
I also loved collecting things when I was a child.
00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:21.279
I don't know if you collect things, but I love hearing what people collect.
00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:27.920
I collected, you know, some of the things the bones like to collect, like feathers, shells, leaves.
00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:29.360
Do you have any collections?
00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:34.000
I used to collect like seashells that we would go like when we go to the trees.
00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:35.680
Yeah, same.
00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:36.000
Yeah.
00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:36.560
Yeah.
00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:37.199
Yeah, yeah.
00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:39.360
It's so fun to collect these things, right?
00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:41.759
Um, and I love hearing what other people collect.
00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:48.560
And I think that's sort of my childhood love of collecting really inspired, you know, Bones' love of collecting as well.
00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.759
Another thing is that I love spooky stories.
00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:53.519
Um, like not too scary.
00:06:53.600 --> 00:06:59.279
I don't like being terrifying, but I do love, you know, like the goosebumps kind of ghost stories.
00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:01.279
Halloween's my favourite time of year.
00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:01.600
You?
00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:02.399
You agree?
00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:06.160
Yeah, a little bit.
00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:10.079
Um, I think it's just, yeah, it's those spooky kind of magical vibes.
00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:15.839
And I always knew I wanted to write a story with those kind of, you know, just a little bit of magic.
00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:17.680
I like magic set in the real world.
00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:25.439
So, and you know, as you noticed, Bones brings to life the skeleton of a small bird, and the birds start speaking to her.
00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:27.360
So it's a little, it's called magical realism.
00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:29.600
It's just a little bit of magic set in a real world.
00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:31.920
I loved those sorts of books growing up.
00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:37.279
So I think that definitely inspired, you know, some of the ideas and themes of Little Bones as well.
00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:43.839
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.
00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:45.839
Have you published any other work?
00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:48.639
Well, thank you for saying that, Gabby.
00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:54.000
That's um such kind words and such a lovely thing for a debut author to hear.
00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:55.759
So I did want to thank you for that.
00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:58.560
This is my first traditionally published book.
00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:03.279
Uh, but having said that, I have been writing since I was about five years old.
00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:07.600
So I've had lots of time to work on and refine my craft.
00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:16.560
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.
00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:24.800
So, whether you play a sport, a musical instrument, um, whether you dance or draw, whatever your passion is, right?
00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:29.920
You've got to work at it, and that's what um you know helps you get better and better.
00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:40.159
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.
00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:44.080
What I can tell you is I had a lot of rejections.
00:08:44.399 --> 00:08:48.480
And it is quite hard, I have to say, when you've invested yourself in something.
00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:50.639
It's quite personal when you make art, right?
00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:56.320
Even if you do a drawing or poem or singing, anything like that, and you're told it's not quite good enough.
00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:02.559
It's difficult not to get a bit disheartened at times, but the trick is obviously not to give up, right?
00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:05.600
So I kept on writing because I love it so much.
00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:11.840
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.
00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:13.440
I'm like, yep, that's okay.
00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.159
I'm just gonna keep writing because I love doing it.
00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:19.679
Still kept that dream inside of me, though, to be published.
00:09:19.840 --> 00:09:26.799
And eventually an amazing publisher said, Yes, they wanted to publish my book, which became Little Bones.
00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:30.559
And that was an extremely exciting moment for me.
00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:32.000
Thank you, Andy.
00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:40.080
Seeing the audience for this podcast are younger readers and writers, have you always wanted to be an author from even a young age?
00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:41.759
Yeah, look, you know what?
00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:50.320
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.
00:09:50.559 --> 00:09:52.240
It was also that I loved reading.
00:09:52.320 --> 00:10:02.799
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.
00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:06.480
So it's been a dream of mine, you know, since I was very young.
00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:11.440
I have exercise books filled with all my scribbles and poetry.
00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:14.960
And, you know, I used to do little illustrations as well.
00:10:15.120 --> 00:10:21.200
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.
00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:27.840
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.
00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:36.480
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.
00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:41.840
So I would say just one important thing to do as well as practice in your writing is to read.
00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:43.919
Like just read everything you can.
00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:47.519
It sounds like you two are both avid readers, which is amazing.
00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:53.039
And I really encourage, you know, all kids to just pick up books and read in all different genres as well.
00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:56.320
Gabby, have you got any final questions for Sandy?
00:10:56.559 --> 00:10:57.759
Um, yes, thank you.
00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:02.080
In the book, the main character is only ever referred to as her nickname, Bones.
00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:05.919
When writing the book, did you ever think about giving Bones a birth name?
00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:09.679
Look, that's such a great question, and the answer is yes.
00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:22.480
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.
00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:36.720
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.
00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:45.600
So I feel like the name Bones is quite symbolic of how she was feeling and what she was going through throughout the story.
00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:50.639
And like Bones, you know, she's quite fragile, but she's also quite strong, right?
00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:56.240
Like she has this hidden sort of courage and resilience that comes out as the story progresses.
00:11:56.480 --> 00:12:07.360
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.
00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:15.120
Um, and I feel like this really reflects Bones' character arc and her journey throughout the story.
00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:20.399
Yeah, but I'm really interested in what readers think about this because I couldn't think of a name.
00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:23.360
So can you think of a name that would suit Bones?
00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:29.600
Like I'm always interested to ask people what the name they would pick for Bones that would suit her character.
00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:31.840
So if you have any thoughts, I'm happy to heave.
00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:44.960
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.
00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:53.200
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.
00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:54.320
Yeah, exactly.
00:12:54.399 --> 00:13:00.639
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.
00:13:00.720 --> 00:13:05.360
I'm gonna claim this as my own, and I think that gave her a certain power over her bully.
00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:07.679
And yeah, you're spot on, that's a great observation.
00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:16.240
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.
00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:21.120
Thank you so much for your questions, Gabriella, and thank you for such a beautiful book, Sandy.
00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:23.120
Oh, thank you so much, me and Gabby.
00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:24.879
It was lovely chatting with you.
