He develops a bond with a retired miner who keeps racing pigeons and the boy comes to a fresh understanding of the meaning of belonging. It was such a pleasure to meet you both, and I really appreciated how smoothly and professionally you ran everything.

It teaches children what it feels like to be in a strange country, one you don’t know, or speak the language of.When King of the Sky is entered in a race from Rome to Wales, the question of his success or failure ends up holding great significance. Kirkus * "It is a book filled with foggy skies and dominated by struggle, and yet it spells out the miracle of the homing pigeon's instinct and its metaphorical force. But a kind old neighbour who owns racing pigeons becomes friends with the boy and gives him a pigeon of his own, one he names 'Re Del Cielo' (King of the Sky). The illustrations are muddy and smudged—fitting for their coal town setting—and reveal their details only upon closer perusal. Most of the world doesn’t have to think twice when asked where they’re from or where home is; some children have to think harder about the answer.

The illustrations were quite interesting in the smudged and hazy effect that permeates the pages, perhaps a link to the child's perception in feeling that he does not belong.It's important to remember that not all immigrants come from poor countries, that anyone might come here looking for a better life, and feel alienated and lonely. The illustrations all look like pastel drawings and they depict the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the mining town (a place that didn’t feel like home to the boy) very well. Observer * "An Editor's Choice in hardback, the story of a young immigrant boy and an old man who races pigeons offers a very humane and timely slant on current world events.