King of the Sky

Starting a new life in a new country is never easy. Living under grey skies where he feels like an outsider, a boy misses everything about his homeland until he finds comfort in the company of an old man, Mr Evans, and his racing pigeons. Given a bird to train as his own, the boy names it 'Re del Cielo' (King of the Sky) and from Mr Evans learns about homing pigeons and the role they played during the war. Whilst waiting for his bird to return from a race starting in Rome, the boy shares all his worries with Mr Evans. Will his bird return? Will the sun and the fountains make King of the Sky want to stay? As his bird at last comes back, the boy realises that he has come to terms with his life in a new country and thinks of it as home. Anyone who has moved home - whether to another town, another area or another country - will recognise that feeling of longing for home, for the familiar, that Nicola Davies captures perfectly in this lovely picture book. The contrasts of weather, language, smells, sounds are all used to create the deep mood of homesickness which permeates the first pages. The intensity of this is brilliantly developed by the powerful illustrations. Although the main themes of the story are migration and the meaning of home, the book also introduces the topic of how pigeons were used in wartime and how valuable cross-generation relationships are. King of the Sky would be a great book to use with a class to explore any of these themes and to inspire further work. Laura Carlin's wonderfully evocative illustrations could also be enjoyed and explored further. 56 pages / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 5+