The Booksellers Association has today named The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade as its Fiction Book of the Month for July, and Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature by Dara McNulty, illustrated by Barry Falls, as Children’s Book of the Month.
 
The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade opens on thirty-three-year-old Amadeo Padilla, who is preparing to play Jesus in his New Mexico town’s Good Friday procession when his fifteen-year-old daughter Angel turns up on his doorstep pregnant. The book follows the baby’s first year as the Padilla family come together, bringing to life the struggles of characters to parent children they may not be equipped to save.

The Five Wounds is published by Tuskar Rock Press on 1^st July and is available in bookshops now.

Kirstin Valdez Quade said: “When I was in college, I worked every summer at the Collected Works, an independent bookstore in Santa Fe. It was a joy being surrounded by books and readers every day at work! In every new town I move to, my first stop is the local bookstore--because bookstores are community gathering places, it's how I begin to feel at home in a new place. Especially in the isolation of this last year, books and bookstores have been a lifeline, and I've appreciated knowing that I'm reading in company--even across distances.”

Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature by award-winning conservationist Dara McNulty is a family friendly guide to the natural world, teaching children fascinating facts about native birds, animals and plants, and much more. With illustrations by Barry Falls, the book combines explanations of how the natural world works with activities for readers to do at home and advice for young conservationists.

Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature is published by Pan MacMillan on 8^th July and is available to preorder in bookshops now.

Author Dara McNulty said of the book’s selection, “It’s such an honour to have Wild Child as Children’s Book of the Month for July! Independent bookshops are a portal for connection. They are the ecosystem which allows authors to truly thrive, grow roots and are essential to encourage a love of reading and knowledge to blossom.”

Independent bookshops around the UK and Ireland will be promoting The Five Wounds and Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature throughout July on social media and instore. The Booksellers Association will be supporting the promotion of the Indie Books of the Month through social media and promotional material.