King of the Sky

Product Information

Laura Carlin's soft-focus illustrations convey flight, solitude, companionship, smog, landscape and memory with an elegiac beauty.

I have trouble wrapping my mind around a homesick boy relating to a bird that always knows its way home. 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. I cannot read it without hearing the joy in Nicola’s voice when she told me how Mr Evans is based on her Grandad. The story is told by the boy, an Italian immigrant who has recently moved to a mining town in the UK. I have not read book as yet but studied hillside village photo as requested by teacher this week with grandchild prior to her working on the book this coming week.The boy soon has his favourite pigeon and Mr Evans suggests to him to name the pigeon and he can have it as his own. A musical adaptation of King of the Sky has already met with success on the stage, shown two years running at the Hay Festival and due to tour Welsh theatres next spring. Nicola Davies’ beautiful story – an immigrant’s tale with a powerful resonance in our troubled times – is illustrated by an artist who makes the world anew with every picture.

First, with the grey, rainy landscape that one finds in Wales, and also in row houses so common in mining villages like the one my dad grew up in, and the image of boy and man sitting at the table eating Mrs.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. Most of the world doesn’t have to think twice when asked where they’re from or where home is; some children have to think harder about the answer.

I think it is an important book and very current; immigration and alienation are all very present themes in our modern day society and children should be educated about this. You guys were so fab and Dawn was such a lovely presence in the schools - I will absolutely be in touch next time I'm in your neck of the woods.In this tale of a young boy, an old man, and a dauntless pigeon, a lyrical text and extraordinary illustrations offer a gorgeous meditation on loneliness, belonging, and home. Striking mixed media artwork combined with a timely message for anyone struggling to fit in in a strange and seemingly hostile place make this a strong purchase for large collections and/or curriculums with a global focus.