Cover Reveal of Book 2 in Sarah Webb’s New Songbird Cafe Series

Out in September

 Girls Heart Booker, Sarah Webb tells us about the background to the book and the cover

 Sunny Day and Moon Cakes is book 2 in the Songbird Cafe series. It’s about a girl called Soon Yi, or Sunny, who has a little sister called Min. They are originally from China but now live on a small island called Little Bird. It’s a fictional island, but it’s very much inspired by Cape Clear and Sherkin Islands off West Cork.

I’ve wanted to write a book about sisters for a long time. I have two sisters: I’m the eldest, then there’s Kate and Emma. So I know a lot about being a sister! As teenagers we used to fight a lot – well myself and Kate did, Emma was always very easy going – but now we are really close.

Sunny’s life isn’t easy – she has an anxiety disorder called selective mutism and she only talks to her sister and parents. It took me a long time to research the condition as I wanted to get it right. I was lucky to meet a mum early on who has two daughters with the condition and she was really helpful, reading my manuscript and talking to me about her daughters’ lives.

I also watched a lot of documentaries about the condition and read academic books. An expert in the field, a UK speech therapist called Maggie Johnson was also a great help. It’s amazing how kind people are if you ask them for help with book research!

I adore the cover of the book. It wasn’t easy finding a girl who was just the right age – 12 going on 13 – but Maria at Walker (the designer) did a great job. I think the overall look is bright, fun and inviting and I’m very proud to show it to you for the first time. I hope you like it!

I loved writing Sunny’s story and I hope readers will like it too. It’s out in September but in the meantime you can read Mollie’s story which is out today! It’s for age 8+.

Out today!