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King of the Sky Hardcover – Picture Book, June 13, 2017

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 67 ratings

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In this tale of a young boy, an old man, and a dauntless pigeon, a lyrical text and extraordinary illustrations offer a gorgeous meditation on loneliness, belonging, and home.

A young Italian boy has moved to the Welsh hills with his family. He feels isolated and unhappy, a stranger in a strange land. It is only when he makes an unlikely friend, an old man who lets him fly one of his pigeons in a race, that he learns how he can belong. Nicola Davies’s beautiful story — an immigrant’s tale with powerful resonance in our troubled times — is illustrated by an artist who makes the world anew with every picture.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

With soft and smudgy yet deliberate mixed-media art that seems at once modern and timeless, Carlin’s warm, nostalgic images find a surprising visual connection between a northern mining region and a sunny southern land.
—The New York Times

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.
—Booklist (starred review)

Striking mixed media artwork combined with a timely message for anyone struggling to fit in in a strange and seemingly hostile place make this a strong purchase for large collections and/or curriculums with a global focus.
—School Library Journal

The mixed-media art is soft and smoky and impressionistic, with watercolor blurs evoking pigeons in flight and grainy pencil sometimes adding texture and sometimes outlining figures; they silently expand on the narrator’s account, allowing for views into his family and the bustling life of his terraced row of houses. This is likely to be as much of a different world for viewers as it is for our protagonist, so they’ll appreciate the novice company and find this an unusual and compelling animal story.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Carlin’s smudgy, near-transparent mixed-media illustrations, depict- ing 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.
—The Horn Book

Davies brings the story full-circle in elegant ways, and Laura Carlin’s mixed-media illustrations exhibit the same type of smudgy, scratchy-yet-soft look that won her accolades for
The Promise, also written by Davies and published in 2014.
—Kirkus Reviews (blog)

About the Author

Nicola Davies is the award-winning author of The Promise, also illustrated by Laura Carlin, which received a special honorable mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Award fiction category. Nicola Davies’s many books for children include Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature, Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear, and Big Blue Whale. She lives in Wales.

Laura Carlin is the illustrator of The Promise by Nicola Davies as well as The Iron Man by Ted Hughes, which was awarded an honorable mention in the Bologna Ragazzi Award fiction category. Her artwork has been featured in Vogue, the New York Times, and the Guardian. She lives in London.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick; Illustrated edition (June 13, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 48 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0763695688
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0763695682
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 4 - 8 years
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ Preschool - 3
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.26 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.38 x 0.46 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 67 ratings

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
67 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2017
    beautiful immigrant story of what is lost when moving to a new country...and found.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2017
    King of the Sky, is a beautiful, moving, story that fits this world perfectly, with immigration being high in this country. It teaches children what it feels like to be in a strange country, one you don’t know, or speak the language of.

    A little Italian boy moved to the UK with his family. Being far away from the only place he knew, he felt incredibly lonely, he felt that he didn’t belong in the UK. He longed for home.

    Behind his house lived elderly Mr Evans, who kept racing pigeons. These were the only things that reminded him of home. He loved seeing them fly, soaring high above the chimney tops.

    Mr Evans chose one of his pigeons, and told the little boy that it was going to be a champion racer. He asked him to give it a name. The little boy called him, ‘Re Del Cielo’ – King of the Sky.

    This hardcover book touches your heart. It fills you with warmth, a sense of understanding, and a want for the little boys pigeon to win the race.

    The artwork is what I would describe as freehand, crayon, childlike drawings. The colours are matt, and quite dark. They are also full page and full of little details.

    It is a wonderful book, with a very imaginative, poignant story, One that transports you into the life of a little boy, and his mixed emotions.

    Reviewed on Whispering Stories Book Blog
    *I received a free copy of this book, which I voluntarily reviewed
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2017
    A boy is now far from his Italian home and only one thing in this new place reminds him of Italy and where he used to live. It is Mr. Evans’s pigeons and their cooing that reminds the boy of Rome. The boy spends time with Mr. Evans and the pigeons. Mr. Evans gives him one as his own, a gray pigeon with a white head that the boy names “King of the Sky.” But the pigeon is slow to return home as the pigeons train, though Mr. Evans insists the bird will be a champion. Finally, the bird gets the perfect long distance race, flying back from Italy. But will he make it or will he stay in Italy like the boy would long to?

    Davies is a masterful writer, inviting the reader into the pain of a boy who has left the country he loves and hasn’t found a place that feels right in his new country. It is a book about loneliness and finding your way forward. It’s a book about connection with your neighbors and community to find that way. The illustrations by Carlin are quirky and beautifully layered. They have a dreamlike quality to them, filled with soft edges and even softer light. This is a picture book that invites readers to understand what home really is. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2017
    KING OF THE SKY is the story about a young immigrant boy who feels alone. The book actually never says directly, but it is implied that the boy is from Italy, but now lives in the United Kingdom. He has no friends and feels out of place until he meets an elderly man named Mr. Evans. Mr. Evans is crippled over because of his work in the coal mines and he keeps pigeons that he races. Mr. Evans and the boy become friends and the two begin training a very special pigeon that Mr. Evans believes is a champion. He lets the boy name the pigeon and he names him "Re Del Cielo" – King of the Sky. KING OF THE SKY has a charming little story. However, I have to admit that I'm not a fan of the illustrations. The images are all blurry and smudged and some of the more "detailed" elements are incomplete. I realize that this is the style of this type of illustration, but it's not one I really enjoy. It's also one that I don't think many children will find very engaging.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2017
    I had higher expectations of this book.

Top reviews from other countries

  • Cat
    5.0 out of 5 stars Arrived on time - great condition
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2023
    Book bought for the illustrations by Laura carlin
  • Jan Klima
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful piece of art
    Reviewed in Germany on January 17, 2019
    The book is lovely, deep and inspiring. We bought it as a present. Much appreciated.
  • Sheepish
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very Worth Having!!!
    Reviewed in Australia on September 22, 2018
    Beautiful story with incredible illustrations!!!
    They’re paintings in their own right!
  • Lewis elcock
    5.0 out of 5 stars Pigeon fanciers dream kids book.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2021
    Absolutely love this book, beautifully written and illustrated both my partner(a pigeon fancier) and my daughter love it.
  • Frank Jones
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2020
    Really beautiful and a lovely lovely read