It’s Victorian London in the late 1800’s… and it’s been five years since the Sweep disappeared.

Orphaned and alone, Nan Sparrow has no other choice but to work for a ruthless chimney sweep named Wilkie Crudd. She spends her days doing dangerous work–sweeping out chimneys.

The job is thankless, but with her wits and will, Nan has managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again.

This time, though, she gets stuck in a chimney fire.

She wakes to find herself unharmed in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature—a golem—made from soot and ash.

The golem we’ll come to know as Charlie. He’s large and lovable, and Nan, our heroine, will raise him almost like her own child. He is, after all, her protector. 

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster

This book, written by Jonathan Auxier, won the 2019 Sydney Taylor Book Award. And it has won a place in my all-time tippy top favorite books. It’s a Charles-Dickens-like adventure about the everlasting gifts of friendship and wonder.

In this episode, I want to introduce you to the book… and to the man who wrote it.

Find the rest of the shownotes at https://readaloudrevival.com/213/.

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