King of the Sky

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They show much more than is conveyed by Nicola’s carefully chosen words, allowing the reader to create their own stories within the story. This experience has been fantastic primarily for the children, the school and also for me (professionally). The reasons for the family's coming to Wales are never mentioned, another interesting choice, perhaps to show that we shouldn't jump to conclusions about the word 'immigrant' or judge the reasons they leave their home country. He was different looking to the other pigeons and had a white mark on his head which looked like a splatter of milk.

In sum: a powerful picture-book, one I would recommend to those looking for deeply felt children's stories that address themes of loneliness and alienation, friendship and solitude, the human connection to the world around us, and the immigrant experience. Together they pin their dreams on a race across Euorpe and the special bird they hope can win it: King of the Sky.

Nicola Davies is an award-winning author whose many books for children include A First Book of Nature, Ice Bear, Big Blue Whale, Dolphin Baby, Bat Loves the Night and the Silver Street Farm series.

Sweet story of the blossoming friendship between a young, displaced boy from Italy and a retired, elderly Welsh coal miner who races pigeons. But a kind old neighbour who owns racing pigeons becomes friends with the boy and gives him a pigeon of his own, one he names 'Re Del Cielo' (King of the Sky). You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.Julia Eccleshare, LoveReading * "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. Complement the soulful King of the Sky with The Blue Songbird — a very different but kindred avian-inspired parable of homecoming — and Carson Ellis’s illustrated meditation on the many things home can mean, then revisit physicist Freeman Dyson on how immigration effects a loneliness in time as well as space and Hannah Arendt on the immigrant plight for identity. The skyscapes of pit-head chimneys, smoke and surrounding hills, and the pigeons in flight have a mesmeric haunting quality. Bonding over their shared interest in pigeon racing, the old man and the boy become particularly invested in Re Del Cielo - King of the Sky - a beautiful specimen with a snow-white head, whom Mr.

stars -- Unique illustrations and an evocative sense of time and place are the standout elements of this story of a lonely immigrant boy who finds a connection to his native Italy in the form of an old man and his racing pigeons. It expands children's knowledge of the world - use it to explore immigration, maps, bird migration, mining, WW1. I enjoyed trying to copy your painting as a pencil drawing and received a special notice from the teacher taking me back 53 years. The exceptional combination of Nicola Davies's zoological expertise and her first-rate children's writing is apparent in her remarkable catalog of award-winning titles.For yes, as an immigrant myself, I certainly am more than a bit wondering about the specific reasons as to why the boy and his family have moved from Italy to Wales in the first place. The Times, Children's Book of the Week * "Nicola Davies tells a poignant tale of friendship and love, of displacement and loss, of hope and home.