My Soul, A Shining Tree

by Jamila Gavin

🌟WINNER OF THE NERO BOOK AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S FICTION 2025 🌟 🌟One of the Telegraph’s 50 BEST CHILDREN’S BOOKS OF ALL TIME🌟 The stunning novel from Jamila Gavin, bestselling and award-winning author of Coram Boy and The Wheel of Surya. “Flawless” — Telegraph Based on the true story of Indian WWI gunner and recipient of the Victoria Cross, Khudadad Khan. The story is told from four Lotte, a Belgian farmgirl whose village is the flashpoint for a battle; Ernst, a German teenage cavalry soldier whose grandiose dreams of war lie in tatters; Khudadad Khan, the gunner fighting with the British Army; and a wild walnut tree.

When Lotte’s farm is destroyed in the fighting, she and her sister flee with their young neighbour Michael, to take refuge beneath the walnut tree on the ridge — a ridge currently being defended from the encroaching Germans by Indian gunner Khudadad Khan. There, they are joined by traumatised German soldier Ernst, whose horse lies lost in the trenches of the battle raging below. As their perspectives converge, their shared humanity emerges as a light in the darkness of war, safe beneath the branches of the walnut tree that shelters them all.

Genres: Historical, Middle Grade

Audible Audio

Published August 14, 2025

About the author

Jamila Gavin was born in Mussoorie, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas, to an Indian father and an English mother. Jamila has written many books with multicultural themes for children and young adults. She won the Whitbread Children’s Book Award in 2000 and was runner-up for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. Her work has been adapted for stage and television. Jamila Gavin lives in England.

Reviews

[Lio · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adding three extra characters to a short story does not a novel make. 🙃

[Mahi Aggarwal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of those stories that stays with you even after you finish reading. It takes us back to the First World War and shows how different people’s lives were changed forever. What I liked most is that it doesn’t just show one side of the war, but many voices together.

We meet Lotte, a young Belgian girl, who loses her family and her home when the Germans invade. Reading about her struggles to protect her sister and survive made me feel so emotional. Then there is Ernst, a German boy who goes to war with excitement, believing he will be a hero. But soon, he learns how harsh and painful the reality of fighting really is. And Khudadad Khan, an Indian soldier, touched me the most. He left his home, fought with courage, and still faced unfair treatment. His story reminded me how many sacrifices by Indian soldiers often remain forgotten.

The shining tree in the book is such a powerful image. It felt like a silent witness to everything - the loss, the suffering, the courage, and also the small sparks of hope. It shows that even in the darkest times, something can stand strong.

The book is not easy to read emotionally because it shows the truth of war ~ the deaths, the fear, the broken families. But it is beautifully written and very meaningful. It makes us think about the cost of war, especially on children and ordinary people who just want to live in peace.

For me, this book is not only about war, but also about humanity, courage, and survival. It left me sad, thoughtful, and also grateful. I think this is a book every reader should pick up at least once, because it makes you feel the pain of the past and understand it in a very real way, made you think about the cost of war and how ordinary people, had to go through so much

[Amy Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

🪾My Soul, a Shining Tree by Jamila Gavin🪾


🪾 An informative and beautifully written WW1 story, where a walnut tree in Belgium centred the story and united the characters, regardless of their differences.

🪾 I think my Year 6 class will like this book, as we have just been learning about World War 1 and used John McCrae’s, Flanders Fields for inspiration. There is a lot of historical and geographical language, which older children would enjoy.

🪾 I particularly liked having the point of view of the children and how war affected each of them differently. You really got a sense of the poverty they would have endured. For example, ‘stealing’ food from their neighbours. Also, how propaganda was used to recruit such young lambs to the slaughter. Some of the scenes are quite shocking, but not too gory for upper key stage two.

🪾 This is my first Jamila Gavin book and I would definitely read another. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Sarah H · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read from a perspective of 3 narrators, each starkly different, where they come together under a century old walnut tree, during WW1. The tree briefly becomes the narrator too, adding a fourth voice. I liked the thoughtful quotes added, to give a young reader time to contemplate, and the situation where the Begium family had married from Germany and had the horror of family members fighting both sides to deal with, although it wasn't explored enough in my opinion.
The writing style of this author is rich, although I feel the flow sometimes judders. In my edition a date was written as 2014 instead of 1914, which threw me off, as I was thinking has it jumped into the future and old relatives are coming to find ww1 graves.
The conclusion also threw me off as why 3 children were approaching the walnut tree? Did Michel return to Belgium too?

[Mugdha Mahajan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once, in the middle of a terrible war, four very different voices had a story to tell. A brave soldier far from home, a farm girl who just wanted peace, a boy who thought war was a game until he saw the truth, and a great old walnut tree that stood tall and watched it all.

This book doesn’t just tell history- it feels like sitting under that tree and listening to their voices one by one. It shows how scary war can be, but also how courage, kindness, and hope can shine even in the darkest times.

It’s the kind of story that makes you think about the world, but in a way that even young readers can understand and feel.

[Vonprice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful and poignant WWI story for anyone aged 10+
You can read my review here: http://vsviewfromthebookshelves.home....