Red Sky in the Morning, Elizabeth Laird

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Has anyone else read it, from 1988? The story of a teenager Anna, whose baby brother Ben is born disabled. She adores him, but is afraid to tell anyone at school.

I was supposed to read it at school when I was in year 7, but at that age, I didn't have the sensitivity to enjoy it; but I read it again recently, and it's a really lovely book.

Oh, I loved that book when I was a teenager! Wonder if my parents still haw my copy…

I read it many times when I was young. Such a beautiful story.

i know I read it several times but I can't remember it at all, except that reading the title just brought back a powerful and lovely memory of looking at the front cover! Thank you for that OP!

Such a beautiful book. I remember the scene describing how her mum showed her the baby’s perfect little feet first of all and how much she loved her brother from that point.

Took me so long to find the copy I had that I thought I'd imagined it.

It's been one of my favorites for a long time. I think about that scene every time my cat is lying on his back waving his paws in my face.

My mum used to buy books from a catalog shop. They'd do bundles of 10 random titles for £10. You'd specify your child's age and get titles suitable for them. Every summer holiday she'd order 3 bundles for me, pick out any duplicates (to save as gifts) and the remaining pile of 20-25 books would be my summer reading pile.

I got this book in one of my bundles and loved it. Taylor Five, Child X, and The Lion Tamer's Daughter are the other titles I remember from those bundles, but I've still got all of them in a box somewhere.

Loved it; still do. Very sad though. Interesting to think of from an adult perspective.

I especially loved the last few chapters, when Anna befriends the disabled girl Jackie, has a job caring for her, and discovers that Jackie’s older brother loathes her, because of the attention she gets.

There are some hilarious school scenes: Anna reads poetry, and is faced with the phrase “with monstrous head”, moments after she has calmly told her school friends that she will use her bare hands to murder anyone who calls her brother a monster. And a teacher telling off a girl for laughing at the word “breast”.

The book says “handicapped” throughout, but it’s notable that we usually say “disabled” now. The shopkeeper Mrs Chapman also says that disabled children used to be called “God’s little clowns”; nobody could say that now.

Yes I read this as a teen in the early 2000s and actually could always remember the plot but not the title, so I’m glad I know now what it was called! Such a moving story, must try to re-read.

I remember this so well. It was so very moving. Really stayed with me.