A Swift Return by Fiona Barker & Illustrated by Howard Gray - #bookreview #blogtour

 

Aria had her feet in the clouds.

Yusuf had his feet on the ground.

***

Aria has her head in the clouds. Yusuf keeps his feet on the ground. But when they work together to save a bird who has lost her way, something magical happens. When Swift loses her way on her epic migration. Aria and Yusuf come to her rescue and are inspired to think big about looking after the sky above their city. Inspired by Fiona and Howard’s love for wildlife of all kinds, A Swift Return is the follow-up to Setsuko and the Song of the Sea. Howard’s beautiful illustrations evoke a strong sense of place, strengthened by the beautiful Arabic text distilled by Maysoon AbuBlan.

***

This is a lovely picture book which is ideal for sharing with little ones. It has much to say about the environment and the importance of us eaching playing a small part to protect it. Consequently, there are discussion points that are triggered by both the text and the illustrations.

It is the story of how two children, Aria and Yusuf become friends when they rescue a bird who is weak and suffering due to the pollution of the unnamed city in which they live. They attempt to help the bird and in doing so realise that in their own small way they can work towards helping the natural world  survive.

This is the strong message running throughout the book; that we each have a small part to play in protecting the world in which we live. 

Early readers will also enjoy reading the text in this book, and each line is shadowed by Arabic script, opening this book up to a whole other group of children.

ISBN:  978 1913230494

Publisher: Tiny Tree

Formats:  e-book and paperback

No. of Pages:  27

***

About the Author:

Fiona is a middle-aged, married mum of one. She is positively potty about picturebooks; reading them and writing them. When writing, she longs for alliterative loveliness but is reluctant to rhyme. When reading, she looks for a marriage of words and artwork and loves anything that is fun to read aloud.

Fiona loves doing school author visits and speaking to adults about picture books and children's publishing.

Visit www.fionabarker.co.uk for details of forthcoming events.

(book and all media courtesy of The Write Reads)

(all opinions are my own)