Blog tour: A Swift Return

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Welcome to the blog tour for A Swift Return by Fiona Barker!

More about the book…

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 and 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.

More about the author…

Fiona is a middle-aged, married mum of one. She is positively potty about picture books; 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.

My impressions…

Wonderfully illustrated by Howard Gray, this is a book that has captured the imagination of both my children… and mine!

We meet Aria, who is always looking at the sky and making up stories, and Yusuf, always busy exploring the streets and fixing things. One day, these two worlds collide as Yusuf finds an injured swift lying on the ground, and Aria, having seen it fall, joins him in his efforts to save the creature. As the swift gets stronger, so does the bond between the two children. What happens next is everyday magic!

I loved the contrast between Aria’s and Yusuf’s personalities, and the fact that, no matter how different we are, we can always find something in common. The book has a strong environmental message too, and it is our duty to teach the younger generations how to look after our planet. Also extremely important is exposing children to different cultures, which the setting of the story and the Arabic text on the page help us do.

The simplicity of the book is exquisitely deceiving. This is a treasure trove for all parents and educators!

Three words to describe it. Beautiful. Poetic. Inspiring.

Do I like the cover? Yes, all illustrations are gorgeous.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, I am not familiar with either author or illustrator.

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