King of the Sky

Book bought for the illustrations by Laura carlin

Absolutely love this book, beautifully written and illustrated both my partner(a pigeon fancier) and my daughter love it.

Really beautiful and a lovely lovely read

Good, but I would recommend hardcover rather than paper back.

A beautiful story with gorgeous illustrations.

Fantastic book. Tackles displacement issues in a heartwarming fashion.

An exquisitely moving picture book for an older age group that displays extraordinary depth in an ordinary tale of a boy moving to a new place and trying to make it feel like home.Atmospheric from the start, the reader learns that the setting is a place in which the rain falls relentlessly, and the landscape is strange for the narrator - grey, and noisy:“Little houses huddled on the humpbacked hills. Chimneys smoked and metal towers clanked.”In fact it is Wales, and an Italian immigrant boy’s interpretation of his new surroundings.This is a poetic reading, of a place our narrator feels is bleak. The text informs that he feels alone, and the accompanying evocative and dreamy illustrations tell the same story, with an emphasis on work and hollow spaces, faceless houses, and isolation. The boy remembers the contrast of the different smells and tones of the place he calls home - the Italian vanilla smells, yellow backgrounds, ice cream. The boy’s memory of home has been sparked by the sound of the Welsh pigeons cooing. In fact, his ensuing hope and salvation come not from new friends at school, but from a friendship with an elderly man and his hobby of pigeon racing.This boy isn’t a toddler - again showing that this picture book isn’t for the very young, but for those who are able to fully utilise the given visuals to embellish in their own mind the narrative that is written on the page, and for those who can probe a little deeper into the emotion and meaning behind the text.There are many layers to explore in the text, such as the boy’s ability to understand a different language through the soft speech of his new friend, the different foods he eats, and the growing friendship with the old man. But the illustrations bring out so much more, not just the contrast between the landscapes, but the change to the landscape as the boy settles; the intimacy between the man and boy that extrapolates the teaching and wisdom being imparted; the industrious town in which the boy has settled and all the different characters who populate it, from the farmer on his wagon to the mother hanging her washing; the memories of fighting in the war;  the different modes of transport and communication depicted; and finally the flight of the pigeons and the warmth that they exude.This is an unusual story, timely indeed, although the pictures of war and the landscape make it seem historical. It is about memories of war and conflict, the settling of a newcomer in a town, as well as old age, and ultimately hope and friendship.The depiction of the landscape's industrialisation creates a nostalgia for a time past, as well as a nostalgia for the glowing images of Rome, as if the sun is just setting across the pages of the book with its orange and pink glow. But it ends with a look to the future, as the boy realises that home is where the heart is. I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more reviews see www dot MinervaReads dot com

I adored this. Lovely lyrical prose and beautifully illustrated.

beautiful immigrant story of what is lost when moving to a new country...and found.

The book is lovely, deep and inspiring. We bought it as a present. Much appreciated.

Beautiful story with incredible illustrations!!!They’re paintings in their own right!

I had higher expectations of this book.