King of the Sky

Gr 1–3—An Italian boy who recently moved to Wales is homesick and lonely. In a new landscape filled with chimney smoke and coal dust, the lad yearns for "sunlight, fountains, and the vanilla smell of ice cream" from his nonna's gelateria. He soon befriends Mr. Evans, an old man who keeps and trains racing pigeons. The boy names one of the birds "Re Del Cielo," "King of the Sky," and hopes that the white-headed flyer will be a champion, despite the bird's unimpressive record so far. Davies's spare, lyrical text pairs beautifully with Carlin's evocative use of color and texture; washes of gray, muddy browns, and subtle crayon rubbings convey the oppressive environment and the protagonist's melancholy, while punctuations of sky blue, soft pink, and luminous yellow depict his growing hope and comfort in his new surroundings. After a terrible storm and a harrowing two-day wait as the birds make their way on a 1200-mile trek home, the King of the Sky returns triumphant, flying down into the boy's waiting arms. It's a subtle but effective metaphor for finding one's place in a new land.