January’s Title Pick for Children: King of the Sky by Nicola Davies

King of the Sky is a wonderful picture book, exploring ideas of belonging and dislocation. The illustrations are muted, we’re greeted by a sad, grey, industrial town as we begin the story. A little boy has relocated to the Welsh Valleys, he’s isolated and lonely. “The streets smelled of mutton soup and coal dust and no one spoke my language.” Factories puther smoke and the boy is filled with a deep sadness and a hopelessness “All of it told me this is not where you belong.”

He reminisces of a home far away, memories of sunshine and Granny and vanilla ice cream and this couldn’t possibly feel further away from where we find the boy now, but as we read on, friendship appears in the unlikeliest of places.

The boy takes an interest in the pigeons of elderly neighbour, Mr Evan’s pigeons. They’re racing pigeons!  Soon he finds himself visiting Mr Evans every day and together, they set about training the pigeons to race. Soon the boy’s confidence grows and he’s handling the birds himself. “I feel its small heart racing underneath my finger, and the push and power of its wings. Its head was whiter than a splash of milk, its eyes blazed fire.” As I read on, I became more and more invested in this unlikely companionship.

When Mr Evans’ health fails, the boy takes responsibility for training the birds himself and as each page passes, the illustrations become just a little lighter, the boy’s outlook, a little brighter! There are some wonderful spreads of illustration, sweeping landscapes, double pages full of birds flocking against the sky. Eventually, it is decided that the pigeon that Mr Evans has allowed the boy to name (The ‘King of the Sky’ himself) will race to Rome and back, but this isn’t without its challenges. A storm rages, the bird doesn’t reappear as expected and the boy starts to fear that his pigeon has enjoyed his adventure so much that he doesn’t want to return. Mr Evans has faith, he’s confident that the bird will come home.

By the end of the story, we find the boy in quite a different place! He’s settled, he belongs and there’s a lightness to the pages! This story is a perfect reminder of how hard it must be to try to feel ‘at home’ in a place far removed from all that you know. As readers we’re transported into the awkwardness of the unfamiliar, this is a book that builds empathy in spades, and I don’t know about you, but right now, I feel that we need that more than ever before.

By Kara Orford