As the title suggests, Azzi finds herself living in a new country where there is no physical threat of harm, but isolated from her past life and unable to fit in with the new place, her family find a home. The absence of colour in the illustrations, capture the trauma of what has happened to force her and her Mum and Dad to leave their home and more importantly her grandmother behind. The issues of language barriers, finding accommodation and being allowed to work are well-portrayed. It’s possible that this situation is familiar to children in classes all over the U.K. How well do other children understand what has happened to children like this, and how desperately they need friendship and understanding from them? His feelings, uncensored and raw, had to serve as Ouwa’s end-of-term report in this examination room of time..." Remember, Little Feather, that you must not forget to eat for two; the one that you are now and the one that you are to be.”

A STORY LIKE THE WIND | Kirkus Reviews A STORY LIKE THE WIND | Kirkus Reviews

Francois, the main character, is born in Africa (near Victoria Falls, which is now in Zimbabwe and Zambia), of parents descended from the French. His parents have created a ranch called Hunter’s Drift in which both his parents and the local tribesmen (the mantebele) have a stake. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - Gill Lewis weaves an unforgettable tale of displacement, hope, and the search for freedom" ( The Guardian) Weaved into all of this is the story of an earnest boy growing into a man, surprising himself as he does so, and the subtle but clear signs that disaster is brewing. A Story Like The Wind" should only take a half-hour to read, it took me two weeks because i kept putting it down and thinking of what the boy sang to the others to give them the promise of living further and longer. The song is about a horse, its companions, the wind and the and an evil conqueror and Weaver's art is shades of blue and white pencil against a dark blue starless sky.World without and world within, after all, whether one knows it or not, are expressions of one another; interdependent and ceaselessly in communication, serving something greater than the sum of themselves." Gill Lewis has established herself as the principal contemporary writer of animal stories, combining a vet’s knowledge of her subject with a novelist’s capacity for character and plot.’ - Lorna Bradbury, The Daily Telegraph, on Scarlet Ibis This poignant story captures the hope and despair of a boy who finds himself alone with strangers in a rubber dingy, floating helplessly on the sea. The language used is evocative of the life he has left behind and the unknown that faces him. It speaks for the thousands that have made dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean in recent years. A Story Like the Wind is a story unlike any other I’ve read in children’ literature. The lyrical language of the story transported me to the tastes, smells and sounds of the streets of Syria and the Mongolian desert, as a small band of refugees floating in a dinghy at sea at night remember their homes that are no longer, and a small boy recounts and sings a tale to keep the darkness at bay.

A story like the wind : Van der Post, Laurens : Free Download A story like the wind : Van der Post, Laurens : Free Download

Not since reading A Monster Calls has a book moved me like A Story Like The Wind by Gill Lewis, illustrated by Jo Weaver. It had me in tears by the end. It captured the sense of grief and loss, but still carries a flag of hope and determination.

His long experience of life had taught him that one had never done with injury, until the moment came when one could put it into words and speak openly about it. That was the only sign, in his experience, that a human being had shed the hurt as a snake sheds its dead skin and that his personality was ready for the future." A fictional story, written in 1972 by Laurens van der Post, who has courted controversy and been accused of embellishing his non-fiction works. No controversy here, as this appears to be pretty well bedded in fiction. A beautifully illustrated story of freedom, music, and seeking refuge. A small group of refugees is crowded on to a boat on the sea. They share their stories as the boat travels towards the dream of safety and freedom. One boy, Rami, has brought his violin, and his story of how the violin was invented, and of a stallion that could run like the wind, weaves through the other stories, bringing them all together into a celebration of hope and of the power of music and story. There is a boat. It isn’t even really a boat – just a toy dinghy really. And in that boat a group of refugees sit. It’s cold. It’s dark. It’s frightening. The sea is rising. And there is a boy with a violin, who starts to tell them a story.

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A Story Like the Wind was my first ever book I read of Lauren’s Van der Post and it is one of my all time favourites. When the boy is finally persuaded to play his violin, the only thing he has been able to bring with him, he tells the story of Suke and the White Stallion. This is a story of fighting for freedom. The travellers on the boat decide to sing it, “for those they have left behind and those who don’t know they need it yet.” It symbolises their incredible endurance and ability to hope even in what seems like hopeless conditions. But it is Gill Lewis and her stunning prose that steals the show, its rhythmical feel makes the whole narrative like its own Strauss concerto. Azzi is in a school where there are sympathetic adults who help her learn the new language. She becomes part of the class when she can contribute beans to grow in the school garden. These beans have travelled with the family and link the past with the present. There is a happy ending for this family when Azzi’s grandmother arrives safely to join them, and the beans symbolise a hopeful future. It could be an opportunity to consider what you would miss most if you had to leave everything behind? And importantly, how could you help someone like Azzi cope if they arrived in your class? There is the fascinating setting of Africa, the colors, sounds and smells described in loving detail; the farm with the main house, the gardens and huts, the animals, the juxtaposition of beauty and danger always present.

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It really helps show readers that people forced from their homes are not just refugees but children just like them. Remember, a man could not value the cattle he owns so much if it were not for the cattle he could never possess.”