Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars

Name: Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars
Brand: Harper Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Catherine Norton
ISBN: 9781460737620

Author: Catherine Norton

Narrator: Emily Wheaton

Unabridged: 5 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 07/31/2024

Categories: Children's Fiction, Historical Stories, Astronauts

Synopsis

Navigation skills have many uses, but can they help Hester find her place in the universe?Fans of The Fortune Maker will be sure to love Catherine Norton's enchanting new middle-grade historical fiction book.
It's 1866 and Hester Hitchins' father is missing at sea. Determined to find him, eleven-year-old Hester wins a place at Addington's Nautical Navigation Academy, where she will learn to navigate by the stars. But the academy is just for boys, and what's more, no one seems to be in charge. Bumbling schoolmaster Captain Slingsby doesn't know anything about navigation. Lord Addington is obsessed with building the world's biggest telescope and Lady Addington believes that falling stars are the souls of the dead. With the help of a lodestone, her new friends Pru and Nelson, and a dazzling meteor storm, can Hester set things right - and find her own place in the universe?

AWARDS
Shortlisted - Book Links Award for Children's Historical Fiction 2025

About Catherine Norton

Catherine Norton's first novel, Crossing, was joint winner of the Patricia Wrightson Prize in the 2015 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. It was also a CBCA Notable Book. She was born in the UK but grew up mostly in Adelaide, where she lives with her husband, children and a very lazy whippet called Archer. She has had dozens of jobs, including travel agent, cleaner, packer of tulip bulbs and novelty stationery, publishing assistant and academic, but she has only ever been fired from two of them. Writing novels is by far her favourite. You can find her online at www.catherinenorton.com.au.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emily on July 25, 2024

This book was a great read! I read this and then passed it on to miss 10 who absolutely devoured this book and mister 9 is currently reading. Highly recommend for 9+ year olds. Hester’s story was beautifully written, the kids enjoyed reading about her journey,friendships; the storyline in general. Th......more

Goodreads review by whatbooknext on August 26, 2024

Hester doesn't much like living with her uncle. But her and her siblings have no choice in the matter after their father is missing at sea, presumed drowned and their mum lost while giving birth to their baby brother and sister. Their uncle is a businessman and puts them all to work immediately. The......more

Goodreads review by Erin on February 02, 2025

Hester Hitchins and the Falling Stars is a chapter book for kids by Catherine Norton. The story begins in 1866, with Hester, and her desire to find out the truth of what happened to her father, who is believed to be dead. After his disappearance, she was sent to live with an uncle, who has her worki......more

Goodreads review by Jessica on July 31, 2024

I found this to be a really sweet little middle-grade, which had themes of freindship, determination, and the reality of being a girl in Victorian England. Hestor has been told that her Father has died in the royal navy. But she doesn't believe this and instead believes he is lost. She embarks on an......more