by Gill Lewis
illustrated by Jo Weaver
 
"Maybe this is what it is like to die. To be ripped away. To leave behind everything you have ever loved, unable to return". A tiny rubber dinghy, on a wide, wide ocean carrying strangers on a dangerous journey- a group of lost, desperate people who are brought into a new family by Rami, a fourteen year old child, with a face a thousand years old. It is Rami who gently gives voice to the passenger's stories, prompting them with his violin as he plays a tune, soaring with melancholy and hope, conjuring up an ancient story of freedom, a story like the wind. Lewis adopts a sparse writing style with carefully collected words which seem to magnify meanings like a parable. A story of our time, echoing the perilous journeys made by Syrian refugees, but also a story which we know has gone many times before. Beautifully accompanied by evocative grainy, soft, 'smudgy' drawings. Amnesty endorsed, Lewis performs another star turn, making issues of social justice accessible, authentic and galvanising to young people. A long time favourite author of Letterbox Library. 'Such a beautiful story-deeply moving. Poetic and powerful- unforgettable' (Eileen, Former Primary Teacher, LL reviewer). Age 8-12, Hardback 77pp
 
Themes: Refugees and Migration