Perfect

Key Stage: KS1 Subject area: Health and Wellbeing, Key themes: Disappointment, disability, connecting with people Shortlisted for the CILIP Kate Greenaway Award 2017 -- Publisher: Graffeg
The boy in this beautiful picture book is looking forward to the birth of his baby sister, and he loves spending time in the little bedroom under the eves where his sister will sleep. He also loves the swifts who come back each year and nest in the roof above the room, and when the swifts return in the spring, it is time for the baby to come. He looks forward to being able to race and chase and laugh with her one day, like the swifts do in the sky. But when she is home and sleeping in the little room under the roof, he realises something is wrong. She doesn’t cry and is very quiet. We aren’t told exactly what the problem is, but the lad finds it impossible to love his imperfect sister. He is very saddened by this, and spends the summer in the garden watching the swifts, wishing things were different. One day he finds a fledgling, fallen from the nest, and thinks to himself that perhaps it just needs a little help and will be able to fly. Up to his sister’s room he goes with the tiny bird, and holding it out of the window in his palm, he lets it go, and off it flies. The analogy with his sister is complete and he learns to accept and to know that he can help her to ‘fly’ in any way she can – that she is perfect in her own way. This tender and enchantingly poetic story is greatly enhanced by the illustrations. Full of light and darkness, movement and beauty, swirls and colour, they perfectly match the mood of the story and help us to understand the boy’s feelings dramatically. A superb production. -- Elizabeth Schlenther @ www.gwales.com