South

This very simple story depends heavily on the outstanding illustrations that accompany it, but is none the worse for that.  A fisherman at sea with nothing but his banjo for entertainment, finds a bird with a broken wing on his boat.  He bandages the wing, and they become close, the bird sleeping in a drawer next to the fisherman every night.  But then the wing heals, and the fisherman must make a decision about how best to help his friend.  This means turning south to an island where the bird will be warm and comfortable through the winter with other birds.  It is hard to say goodbye, but the fisherman knows that he won’t forget his friend.  He also knows that home awaits him as he turns to head back.  The text is so simple as to almost not be needed – one sentence to a page, and sometimes not even that – but the detail in the pictures is remarkable, and in them, we learn much about the fisherman’s life both at sea and at home.  Portraits of his family hang on the wall of his cabin, and there are books and cups of tea, and all the homely detritus of someone living on his own but who has people who care for him.  We care for him too.  With his jolly round body, his beard and moustache, his bare feet and his love for a fellow creature, we know he is someone to be trusted and treasured.  Loss is a theme; when the bird flies away, our fisherman muses that the ‘boat felt a little quieter’, which our home place always does when we lose someone dear.  Our fisherman is gentle and quiet and accepting of his loss, and furthermore, he knows he is going home to those he loves.  A quite outstanding and very moving production.