Der Klang der Freiheit

by Gill Lewis

Eine wunderschön illustrierte poetische Geschichte über die Suche nach Freiheit und Geborgenheit.

Eine kleine Gruppe von Menschen, die in einem Boot auf offener See treiben, teilen miteinander ihre Lebensgeschichten. Der junge Rami trägt eine Geige bei sich und erzählt eine berührende Geschichte über die Erfindung dieses Instrumentes.

Eine Geschichte von Hoffnung, Freiheit und der Macht der Musik.

Genres: Fiction, Middle Grade, Music, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Fantasy, Picture Books

80 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2017

About the author

Before she could walk, Gill Lewis was discovered force-feeding bread to a sick hedgehog under the rose bushes. Now her stories reflect her passion for wild animals in wild places. She draws inspiration from many of the people she has had the fortune to meet during her work as a vet, both at home and abroad. Gill Lewis has a masters degree in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University and won the 2009 course prize for most promising writer. Her first novel was snapped up for publication within hours of being offered to publishers. She lives in Somerset with her young family and a motley crew of pets. She writes from a shed in the garden, in the company of spiders.

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mein erstes Buch im neuen Jahr! Es hat mich zu Tränen gerührt, war wunderschön und regt zum Nachdenken an

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Story Like the Wind is one of the best children's books I have read in ages, and it is a beautiful read for adult readers alike.

Gill Lewis has written a beautiful, very moving, well-crafted story, and Jo Weaver has illustrated it superbly. The hardback has a gorgeous cover design with silver lettering to the title, and there are beautiful colour tones to the illustrations throughout the book.

It's a wonderful story, that I'm rather glad I didn't know too much about going in to it. It unfolded beautifully as I read, and without giving anything away, the storytelling is nicely done throughout and then builds very well as it comes to the end. We meet a small group of refugees on a little boat, with very little of anything, but they still have some hope. Amongst them is Rami, who carries only one thing. And he tells the rest of them a story, in which they all can see parts of themselves and their lives. And the story is magical, but feels real.

Highly recommended.

[Rana Heshmati · Rating 5 out of 5]

دوباره اون شوق و آرزوی اسب داشتن برگشت بهم...
شوق دوباره ویولن زدن...
غم و غصه جنگ و مهاجرت...
بعضی‌ جمله‌هاش شعاری و کلیشه بودن و کمی توی ذوق می‌زد، اما خیلی دوستش داشتم. اشکم رو درآورد.

[Klaudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inhalt

Ein kleines Boot auf hoher See. Der Motor ist ausgefallen, die Menschen kauern sich enger zusammen. Die Nacht schwebt über ihnen. Während sie Essen, Trinken und Wärme miteinander teilen, hat Rami nur eins zu geben – seine Musik. Die Geige war das Einzige, was er packen konnte, bevor er sich auf den Weg in ein neues Leben gemacht hat. In ein ungewisses Leben. Aber seine Geige spielt auch das Lied der Freiheit und bietet Hoffnung in einer Zeit, in der diese rar gesäht ist.

Meine Bewertung

Was für ein Buch. Wenn jemandem hier nicht die Tränen kommen, weiß ich auch nicht weiter. Schon seit der Frankfurter Buchmesse, auf der mir „Der Klang der Freiheit“ vorgestellt wurde, warte ich sehnlichst auf diesen Titel und kam nun endlich in den Genuss, ihn samt der wunderschönen Illustrationen zu lesen.

Obwohl das Buch für Heranwachsende gestaltet ist, beschäftigt es sich mit einer sehr ernsten Thematik, die ich allerdings gut umgesetzt finde. In dem Boot auf dem scheinbar endlosen Ozean trifft man auf eine kleine Gruppe an Flüchtlingen. Manche haben etwas zu essen dabei, andere ein wenig trinken. Einer bringt seinen Hund mit. Auch Rami ist dabei – der Junge mit der Geige und dem Schal seines Orchesterdirigenten um den Hals. Dieser gab ihm eine Aufgabe: Lauf fort, bring dich in Sicherheit, und trag den Schal, wo auch immer du spielst. Und Rami spielt – er spielt das Lied der Freiheit.

In diesem Buch sind zwei Geschichten miteinander verworben – die Hauptstory um die Menschen, die in diesem Boot zusammenkommen mit all ihren Erlebnissen, die sie nach und nach schildern, und die Geschichte, die Rami beim Klang der Musik seiner Geige erzählt. Es ist sehr beeindruckend, wie die in Blautönen gehaltenen Illustrationen diese beiden Geschichten verbinden und auffangen, wie viel mit wenig Worten gesagt wird. Und doch weiß man, was dort passiert und passiert ist, denn so gut wie jeder von uns hat in den letzten Jahren wohl einige Geschichten von Flüchtlingen gehört.

Dieses Buch ist ein Plädoyer an Menschlichkeit im Rahmen unbarmherziger Grausamkeiten. Es ist ein Zeichen, dass Freiheit siegt, weil es das kostbarste Gut ist, dass Musik überdauert und uns alle verbindet. Was in der heutigen Gesellschaft fehlt, wird hier vor Augen geführt – Verständnis. Wir müssen uns nicht alle lieb haben, aber die Geschichte des jeweils anderen zu hören, seine Gefühle und seine Erlebnisse, machen aus einem namenlosen Opfer plötzlich jemanden, mit dem man sich verbunden fühlt. Ich denke, das fehlt heutzutage einigen.

Alles in allem ist „Der Klang der Freiheit“ sehr berührend und hat mich ziemlich nachdenklich und auch traurig gestimmt. Die Erzählweise und die Illustrationen sind wunderschön, aber es schwingt eine Endgültigkeit in dem Titel mit, die mit der Hoffnung konkurriert. Gleichzeitig wollte ich weiterlesen und aufhören – und wenn mich schon ein Buch, das für Kinder konzipiert, so zum Weinen und Grübeln bringt, dann zeigt das doch, dass dies ein wichtiger Titel ist, den sich mehr Menschen zu Gemüte führen sollten.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story about hope, love and life. Quiet moments of reflection from refugees sharing their heartbreak, tales of devastation of war but reminding us why life is so precious and should be celebtrated. Music is a powerful tool in this story. A truly marvelous read, with gorgeous illustrations, that I was fortunate enough to read to year 6 this week as part of their English. It was incredibly amazing and thought-provoking. The children came up with some incredible lines of questioning.

"It belongs to us all. It is the song of freedom. It is a story like the wind. We must all sing it, for those we have lost, or left behind. We must sing it to those who do not know they need it yet. We must keep the song alive."

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

I picked this book up on a bit of a whim really. It looked somewhat magical with the beautiful illustrations by Jo Weaver. The cover, with the beautiful horse made up of musical notes just looked so wonderful. The illustrations within are also absolutely amazing.

This book is a wonderful story of hope, music, defiance, and freedom. Gill Lewis clearly wrote this book in response to the refugee crisis, and it’s a really emotional read which has been endorsed by Amnesty International. It’s a fabulous tale which merges one of the traditional Mongolian tales of the creation of the first violin with the tale of refugees, with interjections and discussion from the refugees included in the tale. It really is a story within a story, in the finest tradition of the Canterbury Tales and suchlike.

It’s quite a short read, and the surface story would work quite well for children of many ages. However, older children from age 11 and up will probably be the most likely to appreciate some of the sophisticated, darker themes of refuge and war. Either way – it’s a book that belongs on everybody’s shelf, and would be great for anyone who enjoyed Frank Cotterell-Boyce’s The Unforgotten Coat or Kate DiCamillo’s The Magician’s Elephant.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Story Like the Wind is an emotionally evocative book. In just 80 pages, one is submerged in the story of a boy, his violin, his fellow passengers, his country and a war. The language is colorful, the story both tragic and hopeful. Some may consider this book too intense for middle-grade readers, but in the hands of a precocious child it could lead to a world of understanding and empathy.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The words and the illustrations work so well to bring this tale to life. Folktales and music give hope to refugees caught out in the open sea.
Highly recommended.
I wonder what the music sounds like in Gill Lewis's mind? Would love to hear it.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book, starting w/the cover.

The first page stopped me. i couldn't read any more because it was a story in itself, i've only read one page like that in past couple years (There Was a Fire Here by Risa Nye). i went back to the book after a week and read one of the loneliest stories i've ever read.

The sea. Cold. Night. Nothing around, no ships, no land, no aircraft. The only noise is the water slapping the rubber raft you and your companions?/survivors? have spent all they had to be in.

Two boys, maybe early teens, a husband, wife and two children and an old man and his small dog. All alone with the boy and his violin and the song.

And by the end of Gill Lewis and Jo Weaver's story it will be enough.

"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.

This is as near a perfect story as one can imagine.

Eerdman's sent me a review copy (of a book i had already intended to buy).

[Rachael Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my Year 6 class. A wonderful story of hope. I'm hoping to get some wonderful written work from the children based on this.

[Na Ch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this read
Althougj short but really carries yoh with it to another level of emotions.
It is so real and surreal at the same time leaving its mark of hope and the glimpse of light within the dark

Definitely recommended

[Annina Luck Wildermuth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what kind of book this was at first because it is about 70 pages but a smaller square format, illustrated and dense text. I decided after reading that it is probably for middle grade readers, although it is timeless in a way because of the strong folklore story that is woven in throughout.

It is the story of a group of refugees huddled in a flimsy boat in the middle of the ocean, escaping persecution and how they are swept up into a folklore story told by one of them, accompanied by his violin. I really loved how this folklore tale about a spirited white stallion and that when the story returned to the present, the reader learned more about the lives of the refugees.

I hope this doesn't spoil the story too much, but it was also clever that the tale incidentally told of how the morin khuur, the horsehead fiddle and I am thinking a cousin to the violin, was invented.

The only thing I wished was that some of the illustrations or maybe even the cover could have been in color.

[Andrew Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dramatic story, full of imagery and parallels with challenges facing our modern world. Inevitably for Lewis, it's primarily a tale about animals, in this case the story of an orphaned white foal found huddled next to his dead mother on a rugged hillside at the start of winter, and Suke, the Mongolian shepherd boy who saves, nurtures and raises him. Lewis however does not appoint herself as the storyteller, nor her readers as her intended audience: instead the story is told within a story by Rami, a thirteen year old orphan himself, travelling on a flimsily groaning dinghy with a ramshackle band of other refugees escaping Middle Eastern civil war which has ravaged all they know and left them homeless, bereaved and traumatised. Rami's only remaining possession (apart from the clothes he wears) is a violin, with which he depicts the story to his fellow travellers to calm their fears as the dinghy is buffeted by the rough, rising sea heading to nowhere. As we follow Suke and his white stallion's oppression by an evil ruler, Lewis interjects the story with testimonies from some of Rami's fellow refugees, helping us realise that the horse is in fact an analogy for each of the refugees themselves: victims of human greed and violence fleeing, as the book's title suggests, like the wind. The book is fairly short in length and very atmospherically illustrated by Jo Weaver using a mixture of blues, greys, whites and silver to reflect the snowy winter in Rami's story, and the night sky above the boat from which he tells it. However, the themes of the book confirm it is intended for a UKS2 audience: every character is the victim of material and emotional loss, and if the horse's story is analogous of the refugees' future, like it they will only find true freedom in death when they are no longer bound by the cruelties of other humans in this life. The theme of human migration to escape war could link to PSHE, history or geography, whilst the extensive poetic language of description Lewis uses could inspire any young writer to fill their own work with simile, metaphor, personification and allegory. There's a beautiful musical link in the horse's spirit living on through song, and the replication of its mane in the neck of a violin: maybe a class could write their own lyrics or even melody to create their own similarly-themed song, as a book can describe it of course but not sing it to us! 'A Story Like the Wind' is endorsed by Amnesty International, and just as we have the opportunity to help those around the world in need, Lewis leaves her refugees at the end of Rami's story, still floating 'in a rising wind, on a rising sea' hoping against hope for freedom and salvation. Maybe their fate - both in creative writing in class to carry the story forward, and in their real-life refugee compatriots around our current world seeking a welcome elsewhere as they travel to escape devastation - lies in the hands of ourselves and our children as readers.

[Adelee MacNevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.
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.
This is an important story. It is a story that immerses the reader into the life of a refugee, making it accessible to children (and adults too!). It’s a great way to start a conversation with your child about refugees, war and loss, but hope and freedom too. It also talks about the importance of remembering, making it a great book to read during Veterans Day (USA) or Remembrance Day (Canada). This book would also make an excellent book study as part of a school or homeschool curriculum/unit that is learning about war, veterans, current events, refugees, or the Syrian conflict.
The book format surprised me in that it’s not a traditional picture book length at 80 pages--rather, it’s like a cross between a picture book and early chapter book, and that’s perfectly ok, as it works for this story.
I read the book aloud to my 7-year-old daughter. It provided me with an opportunity to discuss hard topics like refugees and war. I appreciate that while the refugees’ story doesn’t come to a “happy” conclusion, the book ends with a note of hope, and the story within the story of the white stallion and the boy Suke does come to a satisfying conclusion of the evil being vanquished from the land and the village celebrating.
We don't tend to shy away from hard topics in our family, because I would rather we create a safe place in our family and home for discussing all topics at an age-appropriate level than for my children to be discussing and getting their information from peers.
I received this book as a gift with a request to review.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A haunting look at the plight of refugees, this short piece of fiction will work well for children and adults alike. Rami floats in the water in a small dinghy with seven other people. All of them are fleeing their homeland in the hopes of finding shelter elsewhere. But the boat motor has broken down and they are now adrift. Rami is alone except for his violin, and he begins to weave a tale filled with music to keep their spirits up. It is a tale of a young man who rescues an orphaned colt from the snow and grows to be able to ride the stallion because he respects the horse’s freedom. As the tale is woven, it is not just a story about horseriding, but also one about power, brutality and the cost of freedom.

Lewis has written a book that dances the line between children’s book and adult book very nicely. It can also seem almost a picture book as the illustrations sweep across the pages. Lewis’ writing is beautiful and filled with emotion. The dangers of the refugee experience are shown tangibly on the page, as are the stories of what they have lost from war. The story of the stallion is given equal weight in the book, rounding out the book and offering another angle from which to view the same story in the end. It is a story that arcs around and creates a whole out of two separate tales wrapped in song.

The illustrations by Weaver are breathtaking, woven from blues and whites. They fill with light and dark, playing against one another and revealing images built from luminescence, music, and wind. The illustrations suit the dark tale so perfectly that the book is one cohesive story.

A dramatic and human look at the refugee crisis and its many victims. Appropriate for ages 9 and up.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A STORY LIKE THE WIND by Gill Lewis, illustrated by Jo Weaver (Eerdmans 2018)

A STORY LIKE THE WIND has all the makings of a classic storybook. At first glance, it looks like a small picture book, but the text inside is geared more to middle grade. The illustrations frame the story with a monochromatic palette, and the small trim size makes it less likely to be a read aloud, though the poetic language is well suited for it.

We start with a boy, Rami, floating through time and space (a spot-on metaphor for a refugee) who ends up “in a small boat, with a small hope, in a rising wind, on a rising sea.” He meets each of the seven other passengers and we learn a bit about each of their stories before Rami uses his prized violin, the only thing he took with him on the boat, to tell a story. He tells it to distract them all from the wind and cold, and in the case of one very seasick passenger, the story seems to cure him.

On the surface, the story within the story is about the origin of Rami’s violin but it’s also an allegory about obtaining freedom from an oppressive government. We don’t quite know the significance of this story within the story until the end, where it ties both narratives together beautifully.

A STORY LIKE THE WIND is an important look at refugees on a journey of hope, and a necessary, if gentle, call to understand how freedom for all people must be regained and maintained.

*a copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Kate Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so poetically and magically written, I can’t give it less than 4 stars. You do have to be ‘in’ to this style of storytelling, however. For others, they may consider it ‘wishy washy’ and need something more concrete. I’m not sure how it would fair with children (probably the same). It is quite mature in its subject and metaphorical style, but is a good emotional education for children and adults alike. Rather than focussing so much on a concrete narrative, it shows us how we are all connected through emotion and our experiences. This is a unique angle, as it proves that you don’t always have to fully know or understand someone’s story to be able to identify with what they are feeling and to provide comfort. We can all relate to fear, sadness, hope, etc. We are all part of the human race!

The illustrations are to die for. Seriously. So much so, that I have looked up the illustrator separately. The author also uses some refrains for a more powerful impact, and to tie the story together, which works well.

Two of my favourite extracts:

-The words tumble from the passengers’ lips, keen to etch names and places into each other’s minds. Remember me. Remember my name.

-In a small boat
With a small hope
In a rising wind
On a rising sea

(One of the refrains)

-I am nothing, he thinks. Just a handful of stardust.

This is a brave, beautiful book for children and adults alike, that celebrates our common humanity.

[Thomas DeWolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few weeks ago I read, loved, and reviewed Khaled Hosseini's Sea Prayer . I shared it with my granddaughters and told them of my friends in Syria who, along with their families and friends, have suffered deep, traumatic wounds from the war and terror. Today, my oldest granddaughter and I rode bikes to the library. There's no school next week and she wanted plenty to read. She checked out 19 books. One was A Story Like the Wind. She read it soon after we returned home and then said to me, "Papa, you should read this one." It reminded both of us of Hosseini's small masterpiece, and more, the name of the protagonist is the name of one of my dear friends in Syria... Rami. The people huddled in the small boat drifting at sea have lost everything except hope... in the form of a song. On the back of the book, Amnesty International endorses A Story Like the Wind "because it celebrates our common humanity and upholds the human rights values of love, friendship, kindness, home, family, culture, and safety. I highly recommend it... particularly for grandchildren.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This lyrical account about people stranded on a boat is a tale of hope that emerges in the darkest of hours. Like the little drummer boy of story, Rami has nothing to offer but music. But such music it is. It’s accompanied by a story of rebellion, beauty, compassion and the song that never dies but is passed from instrument to instrument, throat to throat and mind to mind. It’s a narrative about perseverance that outlasts monetary possessions, the castles of kings and the tyranny of bullies.

The illustrations look like etchings. Sometimes they’re simple, such as a desk and chair that look like an art exercise. Sometimes they are like greeting cards. (The image of a boy and his horse set against a double page surrounded by snowflakes is particularly haunting.) The words curve, spread and fly across the pages as Rami tells a story of a foal that grows to be an extraordinary stallion and the boy who loves him.

Any child who has ever cherished a love for the equines that share our world will thrill to this story and adults will like it for its allegorical subtext.

[Cate Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows how art—a story, a song, a drawing--can make suffering meaningful and shareable. It shows how art creates and sustains hope.

A Story Like the Wind and the story within the story were difficult to read. The harrowing situation of the refugees and the cruel treatment of the horse were painful for me to face and think about, but the author and illustrator used this difficulty and pain to help me understand and identify with the characters and with people facing devastation throughout history and in times to come. It was worth the difficulty to see the way stories and pictures made the characters real to me. The absolutely stunning illustrations and well chosen words will stay with me and help me through my painful times, and will help me feel compassion as I try to help other people through theirs.

“In a small boat, with a small hope, in a rising wind, on a rising sea.”

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cross-posted from Kiss the Book reviewer's personal Goodreads account

A Story Like the Wind by Gill Lewis illustrated by Jo Weaver, 80 pages. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2018. $16. Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG.

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Eight Refugees share a boat, adrift in the middle of the night. One is a young boy with a violin. To keep everyone's spirits up (and to keep their fear at bay) Rami, plays his violin - his only possession, while he tells the story of a beautiful, wild, white horse.

The power of music and story bring people together. Although they were strangers (except for the small family) they all could relate to the experience on different levels. Touching briefly on their circumstances - why they are escaping - this is a story about resilience and hope.

Lisa Librarian

[Kyle Pucciarello · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The worlds tumble from the passengers' lips, eager to etch their names into each other's minds.

Remember me.

Remember my name."

The writing in this story is as beautiful as the cover and illustration. This isn't a long book, it's only 80 pages. Most of these pages only have a few sentences on them. But there is so much emotion and tension within such eloquently written text that the feeling of being a refugee, clinging to life with strangers and something one could barely call a boat, slips through like the ray of hope these characters all cling to.

For students who either aren't ready for "Refugee" or "Salt to the Sea," or would like a little more once having read those. Fantastic!

[Jaimie Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Story Like the Wind is utterly beautiful; the words and illustrations perfectly intertwining to create a celebration of love, life and hope. The story evokes a timelessness reminding us that throughout the ages people have fought. The refugees share the same fears and suffer the same hate as Suke and his stallion, but they also share the same love and desire for freedom.

Gill Lewis captures the heartbreak refugees have suffered and the devastation of war, but also reminds us why life is to be celebrated. A man remembers meeting the love of his life; brothers poignantly remember their family home; a mother recalls the birth of her precious son. Even in the midst of the darkest time, the music of life is so powerful.

[Christine Hwang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story, but was confused by it. At some points, I understand the pacing and change in direction like the wind is ever changing. However, the point of the book is vague. Was it a story about hope or memories or roots (where you come from) or unseen connections to strangers? Or the price of freedom or justice or am I reading too much into this and there is no point to the story at all?

It's a good story with a lot of open ended points. Like the wind, it goes where it goes, and where it goes, we'll see.

[Jill CD · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story within a story within a story. The transitions from one tale to the next, bound by the original teller, are well done. The emphasis on music while the refugees seek a new land ties everything together. While I truly enjoyed this short book, I am unsure what age group to suggest it to. The content regarding refugees can be difficult to read emotionally, so perhaps Middle School. It might be a good read aloud to discuss and explore these issues . The illustrations definitely add to the story.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although my youngest is already 9, we still enjoy reading books together. PJs on-Check!... Comfy pillows just so--Check! Favorite bunny smashed against young chest---Check! Great book demanding to be read out loud--Check! Not only is this story beautiful, so is the graphics in it. Drawn like chalk on a board ,slightly signifying its threat of being wiped away with time, this book shows us that no matter where we are, our home, our land, ourselves, will never leave us.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beautiful little book packs a punch. I randomly grabbed it at the library and really enjoyed reading it. I read it to myself, but probably could (maybe still will) share it with my boys. It’s the moving story of a group of refugees on a dinghy and the musical tale one boy tells of a wild stallion. There were sad moments and brief hard passages about the tragedies of war (death, sacrifice, families split apart, soldiers shooting innocent people).

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read a children’s book this well crafted in ages. A boy is on a plastic boat floating in the ocean, running from a new regime that is violent and unfair, and all he has to share is a violin and a song. The song is a song about hope and freedom.

The beautifully crafted words, the way they tie into both the boat of refugees and the overarching themes of humanity and hope is absolutely beautiful. I fully plan on incorporating this book into my classroom as a teacher.

[Matteo Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rami, il protagonista di questo incantevole libro, ricorda: «[Il direttore d'orchestra] mi ha detto che questa storia dovrebbero sentirla tutti». Ma che storia ci vuole raccontare, Rami?

«È una storia di tutti.
La canzone della Libertà.
Una storia come il vento.»

E Rami ha ragione: questa storia dovrebbero sentirla tutti; solo che, quando questa storia - che in realtà sono due - la ascolterete, con fatica, credo, riuscirete a trattenere le lacrime.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving response to the refugee crisis, this poignant story, a mixture of current events and traditional fable accompanied by beautiful illustrations, will linger long in the memory.

My full review was submitted to the Bookbag: http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/i...