The Feather

by Margaret Wild, Freya Blackwood (Illustrator)

Overview

This is a story about hope, kindness and redemption set in a grey dystopian world. When a great feather drifts from the leaden sky, two children recognize its extraordinariness and take it to the village for its protection. The villagers, however, want to encase it, upon which the feather loses its radiance. The children take it home and care for it through the night. In the morning it is again radiant, and when they set it free it leaves behind the first signs of blue sky and color. The ambiguous ending invites multiple interpretations about the effects of selflessness and kindness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781760124212
Publisher:	Hardie Grant Children's Publishing
Publication date:	05/01/2019
Edition description:	None
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 11.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Margaret Wild and Freya Blackwood previously collaborated on The Treasure Box and Harry & Hopper. 

Editorial Reviews

"A simple and deeply discussable message about hope and faith." —Kirkus Online

From the Publisher

★ 2019-03-03

A feather drifts into the lives of two children and a village of dispirited adults in this allegory of hope in the face of darkness.

Maria and Nico are washing and hanging their laundry outside a small house when a large feather appears, floating down from a brown, sunless sky. "It reminds Maria of olden-day pictures of how the sky once looked," and of rain and wind. The children carry the feather ("light as thistledown") through the woods and to a village seen from above as a collection of broken buildings, abandoned vehicles, and empty streets. The villagers are equally entranced, remembering clouds and bright skies. But three older men, figures of authority—a doctor, a lawyer, the mayor—suggest locking away this valuable reminder of better times. When the feather takes on a leaden hue and weight, it is dismissed, along with the children. Maria and Nico's optimism restores the feather to its lightness when they bring it back to their home, sleep cuddled next to it, and finally launch it back into the sky. Blackwood's delicate scenes, gentle pencil lines, and subtle shades of gray and brown convey the sense of loss in the village and the subtle breaks in the dense cover of cloud that allow the feather to soar. Maria, Nico, and the rest of the villagers appear white.

A simple and deeply discussable message about hope and faith. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews