Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* It's difficult to determine what works best in this tender, simple tale. There's a young boy, newly arrived from Italy, who does not feel like he belongs in strange, rainy Wales; an old man, bowed and broken from spending most of his life in the mines; and a racing pigeon, King of the Sky. The boy's first-person commentary achingly expresses his loneliness and sense of alienation, and the beautiful mixed-media illustrations, which have the smudged and dreamlike quality of watercolors, align perfectly, setting scenes that capture moods and the rainy setting, provide insights, and engage readers, from the cover to sweeping two-page spreads to the endpapers, which are filled with pigeons in a variety of forms. The pigeon's struggles during a long-distance race are poignantly portrayed, as is the boy's jubilation when King returns as a champion. This lovely story will resonate with any child who has felt out of place, whether a transfer student in a new school or an immigrant in a new country. This will work for group readings, but will be much more special for one-on-one sharing, where readers can absorb the language and pore over the detailed, nuanced pictures. This is a unique and very special book.--McBroom, Kathleen Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
It rained and rained and rainedThe streets smelled of mutton soup and coal dust. And no one spoke my language. All of it told me this is not where you belong. An elderly Welsh miner and a young Italian boy bond over the care and training of homing pigeons in this atmospheric and hopeful tale of immigration and friendship. Told in the first person by the boy, who has been unwillingly transplanted from Rome to Wales, the narrative follows the pair as they train Mr. Evanss pigeons, including a small one with a white head the boy names Re del Cielo, King of the Sky. Re del Cielo is the boys favorite, but the bird shows little promise until he enters a distance race. He returns (not without suspense) all the way from Rome a champion, and with that return, the boy finds his own sense of belonging. Daviess poetic language includes moments of precise description (such as the race rings on the birds legs or the basket in which Re del Cielo travels by train to Rome), while other details (such as the name of the boy or his adopted Welsh town) are never mentioned, establishing a setting that is both recognizable and foreign. Carlins smudgy, near-transparent mixed-media illustrations, depicting soot and sun and shadow, capture the essences of the old and new homelands, and a number of wordless spreads emphasize the differences, and distances, between them. Quiet, tender, and profound, this window into immigration offers an intimate understanding of just what it means to come home. thom barthelmess (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
