The Nicknocker

by Tracy Sabin

Did you hear that?

Martin Tuck struggles with self-esteem when his mother, consumed with personal troubles, abandons his family. One night, a tiny, green scallywag blusters into his life. It’s a Nicknocker, elfin maker of house noises. Is he real or imagined? Martin can’t decide, but the strange creature opens his eyes to new ways of coping.

When a developer threatens to destroy the last, much-loved patch of forest in the neighborhood, also the Nicknocker’s home, Martin joins the battle to save it. Even though he’s just a kid, he musters the help of friends and family to argue against the project at the city council meeting.

Despite the wild success of their presentation, the city moves forward with the project. Martin must dig deeper if he hopes to save the forest and uncover his true strengths.

177 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 17, 2023

About the author

Tracy Sabin in an author/illustrator of children’s books. He has created illustrations for textbook publishers including Harcourt Brace, National Geographic, Houghton Mifflin, Scholastic and Savvas Learning Company, among others. He wrote, illustrated and paper-engineered “A Visit to the North Pole” in 1993. In 2006, he illustrated the New York Times bestselling popup book, “Castle” with text and paper-engineering by Kyle Olmon. Since 2015, Tracy has been writing and illustrating books under the imprint, "Thar She Blows Books." Titles include “Mouse Builds a House,” “Nothing to Do!” and “Nobbin, Bobbin & Cobb - A Refugee Story.” “This Is Our Ocean - The Dream of Clean Seas” won SCBWI’s 2019 Spark Award for excellence in independently published picture books. His most recent publication is “The Secret of Four Notch,” a middle-grade novel. Other books include a survey of logos designed by Tracy and “Cotswolds North & South,” a series of photo essays highlighting the villages of the Cotswolds.