A Home for Spark the Dragon: New children’s picture book from Welsh actor Michael Sheen raising money for homelessness charity Shelter

Paid collaboration with Puffin Books and A Home for Spark the Dragon

As if Michael Sheen wasn’t already enough of a national treasure, the acclaimed and much-loved actor has written his first children’s picture book in association with homelessness charity Shelter.

A Home for Spark the Dragon – which the Welsh actor has co-written with South Wales author and mum of two Jess Webb is a thoughtful exploration of what it means to have a home and the difference we can make when we come together to help others.

A home is more than just the walls around you

Spark the Dragon has always lived high on the hill, until a storm leaves his nest in tatters. Bear, Beaver, Firefly and Owl all offer him a place to stay, but it’s just not the same. His friends soon realise that having a home is more than just the walls around you and come up with a way to help.

Illustrations come from Sarah Massini, best known for The Girl and the Dinosaur series and The Velveteen Rabbit. Each page is filled with intricate details, beautifully bringing the tale to life and helping open up the conversation around homelessness.

A Home for Spark the Dragon is raising money for Shelter

Publishing in association with Shelter, Puffin Books and Michael Sheen are proud to give £1 from the sale of each hardback copy and 50p from the sale of each paperback copy of the book in the UK and Ireland to Shelter, who help support children and families affected by the UK’s housing emergency.

Here in Wales, more than 11,000 people are living in temporary accommodation – including nearly 3,000 children. This means at least two children from every school in Wales are trying to maintain their education, their friendships and their wellbeing with no permanent place to call ‘home’. Last year Shelter Cymru helped 21,532 people in housing need, including 6,345 dependent children. Every day, another 59 people reach out to Shelter Cymru for help.

Spark’s tale is not only a good way to talk about homelessness with young children but to help raise funds to help too.  As Michael says in the book’s foreword, “Telling stories is an important way to make change in the world, and, in the long run, stories for children can make the most change of all.”

Find out more about A Home for Spark the Dragon and buy your copy here.