King of the Sky

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The illustrations all look like pastel drawings and they depict the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the mining town (a place that didn't feel like home to the boy) very well.

Both illustrations and words pass the narrative baton so well here and I think Carlin's work with might by my favourite of Davies' collaborations - they seem to understand each other so well. Starting a new life in a new country, a young boy feels lost and alone - until he meets an old man who keeps racing pigeons.That he somehow finds comfort in the fact that the pigeons find home from 1200 miles away and he can't is a little odd for me. A young refugee is seeking safety and friendship which he finds in the form of a kind old man who shows him his pigeons and this gives him a purpose. It is a beautiful book which could perhaps be used to help an immigrant child, who is missing their home. At last, the downpour ends and the boy runs outside to squint at the sky, into the clouds of fragile hope. Sweet story of the blossoming friendship between a young, displaced boy from Italy and a retired, elderly Welsh coal miner who races pigeons.

I sat beside y friend’s bed, and told him that perhaps the sunlight and the fountains and the vanilla smell of ice cream from a thousand gelaterie had made our pigeon want to stay. One day, the perfect race for King of the Sky emerges — the bird would go all the way to the boy’s native Rome by train, then race more than a thousand miles back to the humble Welsh loft. In sum: a powerful picture-book, one I would recommend to those looking for deeply felt children's stories that address themes of loneliness and alienation, friendship and solitude, the human connection to the world around us, and the immigrant experience. It allows children to feel empathy for those people who move to a strange country and may not speak the native language of. Evans on train trips, releasing the pigeons at various stations along the line to let them race back home, taking them a little farther each time.With soft and smudgy yet deliberate mixed-media art that seems at once modern and timeless, Carlin’s warm, nostalgic images find a surprising visual connection between a northern mining region and a sunny southern land. Evans, now bedridden, sends the boy out side to welcome his bird home - as the bird finds its way home and into the boys waiting arms, the knows he, too, is at last home. Humane-minded parents will want to note that this story is about pigeon racing, which is still practiced today and is not without its problems and controversy. If you are under 16, please obtain your parent/guardian’s permission before submitting or ask your parent/guardian to submit on your behalf. The zoologist's latest offering puts a decidedly quirky twist on her years of experience: POOP: A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE UNMENTIONABLE is a fun, fact-filled guide to the fascinating world of poop across species.