A Terrible Kindness and The Station Cat are this week’s adult and child book of the week. 

A Terrible Kindness (adult book) – reviewed by Jacqui Howchin 

In October 1966, in the mining village of Aberfan, a coal slag heap collapsed onto a school killing 116 children.  

This was a tragedy of such extreme dimensions that to this day you only have to mention the name of the town and most people know what happened there. 

In A Terrible Kindness the author has written a story surrounding those events with real compassion and understanding for the loss that occurred. 

William Lavery is having the night of his life at his first black-tie event. But, as the evening unfolds, news hits of a landslide at a coal mine.  

William decides he must act, so he volunteers to attend. It will be his first job as an embalmer, and it will be one he never forgets. 

His work that night will force him to think about the little boy he was, and the losses he has worked so hard to forget.  

But compassion can have surprising consequences, because, as William discovers giving so much to others can sometimes help us heal ourselves 

The Station Cat (child book) - reviewed by Jacqui Howchin 

Every now and again a picture book is published that transcends all the boundaries. The Station Cat is one of those books. It is a story of kindness and hope with the most beautiful illustrations that will capture the imagination of young and old alike. 

A lonely kitten wanders into a dull grey railway station, full of dull grey people. Her colourful fur and bright green eyes bring warmth and life to this weary place and soon people begin to notice the kitten. As she learns about the different travellers and their struggles from loss and loneliness the little kitten helps to bring colour back into their world. 

The Station Cat is so much more than just a picture book for children. With beautifully poetic prose it shows the reader the pride and sense of purpose that comes from helping others and will bring a tear to the hardest of hearts.