Feathers Together by Caron Levis and Charles Santoso

Storks Klepetan and Malena plan their migration every year leaving behind the cold winter in Europe and spending summer in South Africa. They make this huge journey year after year

"But then Malena got hurt. ... After much resting and healing Malena's wing did not hurt but it wouldn't flap, so she couldn't fly up to their nest."

Luckily a kind local man saw this dilemma and so he constructed a series of ramps to assist Malena. But what will happen when Winter arrives. Sadly, Klepetan has to leave without his mate.   

"... missing each other was like having an itch in a place neither could reach to scratch. Missing made new food taste icky and old foods taste blah. It made sleeping too loud and waking up too quiet."

Spoiler alert - our beautiful pair of storks are reunited.

"This book is inspired by the true story of Malena and Klepetan; two white storks who spent a season of each year living over eight thousand miles apart. They reunited every spring for nineteen years in the village of Brodski Varos, Croatia, until Malena died of old age in 2021. The pair birthed and raised sixty-six fledglings with the support of their human caretaker, Stjepan Vokic (a school caretaker)."

The Australian distributor for this book is Thames and Hudson. It is priced just under AUS$30. Hopefully there will be a paperback edition because purchasing this book might be beyond most school library budgets. 

• Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills.
• They live on all continents except Antarctica and are most common in tropical regions.
• Many species prefer to be in or near wetlands, though some occur in drier areas.
• There are 19 species of stork.
• Storks have remarkable eyesight, allowing them to spot small prey from great distances.
• They use their keen vision to locate fish, amphibians, reptiles, and insects, which make up a significant portion of their diet.
• Storks are highly social birds and are often seen in large flocks, especially during migration.
• Storks belong to the family called Ciconiidae and make up the order Ciconiiformes.
• The lifespan of storks is about 30 years and sometimes up to 40 years.

Migration: The average journey south takes 49 days and almost 20,000 km. This stork species sets out from Europe and moves over the Strait of Gibraltar into the Sahara desert, following the heavy thermal systems that allow it to efficiently soar to its destination (and even conserve energy in the process!). These flocks, some with almost 11,000 individuals, then follow the Nile River south to eventually settle in various African countries, including Kenya, Sudan, and South Africa.

Storks are classified into these six categories - the storks from this story are Ciconia Ciconia.

• Genus Mycteria: Known for the Painted Stork and the familiar White Stork.
• Genus Anastomus: Home to the Openbill Storks.
• Genus Ciconia: Includes the Woolly-necked Stork and the Black Stork.
• Genus Ephippiorhynchus: The Saddle-billed Stork falls under this category.
• Genus Jabiru: The Jabiru is the only member, native to the Americas.
• Genus Leptoptilos: Notable for the massive Marabou Stork and the Lesser Adjutant.

The author draws out the tension in the most delicious way, readers rushing to the end so that the birds can be reunited, and likely there will be no dry eyes in the house when the duo are finally once again nestled next to one another, feathers together. The digital illustrations give marvelous personality to each stork, their every emotion evident and so relatable for readers. Kirkus Star review

Here is a 16 minute video where you can see Caron Levis and Charles Santoso. Look for these other books by Caron Levis:

Ida, Always

Check out this interview with Charles Santoso and Caron Levis. Charles Santoso (he lives in Singapore) is the illustrator of Happy Hippo (2021), Feeling Grateful by Kobi Yamada (2022), Wombat Underground: A Wildfire Survival Story by Sarah L. Thomson (2022), Finding Muchness by Kobi Yamada (2021), The Bookstore Cat by Cylin Busby (2020),  Dandy by Ame Dyckman (2019), Watch Out for Wolf! by Anica Mrose Rissi (2019), Peanut Butter & Santa Claus by Joe McGee (2019), Dragons Get Colds Too by Rebecca Roan (2019), Penguin & Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime by Cate Berry (2018), No Boring Stories! by Julie Falatko (2018), The Snurtch by Sean Ferrell (2016), Peanut Butter & Aliens by Joe McGee (2017), I Don’t Like Koala by Sean Ferrell (2015), Peanut Butter & Brains by Joe McGee (2015). He’s also illustrated a number of middle grade novels, including Odder by Katherine Applegate, (2022) Willodeen by Katherine Applegate (2021), A Boy Called Bat series by Elana K Arnold (2018), and Wishtree by Katherine Applegate (2017) - a New York Times bestseller.

Their latest collaboration is this one - Mighty Muddy us: