Azizi and the Little Blue Bird by Laila Koubaa illustrated by Mattias De Leeuw translated by David Colmer

"Not that long ago, in a country that still exists today, Azizi was relaxing in an orange tree."

Azizi hears his father hanging portraits in their lounge room. They are huge and portray very ugly people. His father explains he has to hang them - these are the two rulers Tih and Reni. The family have to appear to be loyal and at all times they have to be careful about what they say incase 'the walls have ears'.  Readers will begin to feel the oppression and fear of their lives, and this is only page two!

"Tih and Reni ruled the Land of the Crescent Moon with an iron hand. And they stuffed their stomachs full from early in the morning until late at night. ... (their) courtyard was filled by an enormous white cage that had all of the country's blue bird locked up inside it."

I would stop reading at this point (sorry to interrupt the story), but can you anticipate an act of heroism? Also why are they locking up all the birds? Why would these cruel rulers be afraid of little blue birds? What power might the birds have? (twitter, twitter!)

As Tih and Reni grow in power (and size) the people seem to shrink and almost disappear. Then one day a blue bird lands on the window ledge of Azizi's house. Azizi and his mother have made garlands of jasmine which they attached to twigs tied together with red threads. The little blue bird tells Azizi to gather the jasmine and join all the threads together. It is time to fly to the castle. Azizi is now so small that their sewing needle is almost like a sword. Remember how big Tih and Reni have become - their bodies are like huge balloons. 

"swift as an arrow, Azizi and the little blue bird drilled a hole right through Tih and Reni. Everything the greedy rulers had stolen exploded into the sky like giant fireworks, and the key to the big white cage shone among the vases, carpets, and dishes."

The little blue bird and Azizi set all the birds free.  I love the final sentence:

"And as Azizi and the little blue bird did somersaults in the star-filled sky, the sweet smell of jasmine rained down over the Land of the Crescent Moon."

The blue birds are representative of Twitter, and the widespread censorship of the internet by various governments during the revolutions – when I worked this out, suddenly the story made a whole lot more sense, and became more than just a poetic tale.  Bookseller NZ

I picked this book up at a recent charity book sale. I wonder who previously purchased it here in Australia. This book was originally published in 2013 in Flemish with the title Azizi en de kleine blauwe vogel by Book Island. There are teachers notes on the publisher page. You could use this book with students aged 10+ as a good discussion starter. The book size is extra large and the illustrations are colourful, appealing and very detailed. 

Bookseller blurb: Azizi lives with Umma and Baba in a country ruled with an iron fist, whose leaders capture all the blue birds and lock them up in a white cage in the courtyard of their palace. While the rulers swell and bulge like hot air balloons, stuffing their stomachs from morning till night, the people shrink and suffer until they are almost invisible. One day, when Azizi is no bigger than a pine nut in a glass of mint tea, a little blue bird escapes from the cage. Determined to live in fear no longer, Azizi and the little blue bird set out on a journey to free the people of their cruel and greedy rulers and bring peace to the land once more. This contemporary fairy tale of freedom against oppression is inspired by the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia.

This gorgeous story is reminiscent of traditional fairy tales, with a brave hero, evil villains and a plucky sidekick. The descriptive writing is superb, conjuring images of a warm land bathed in sweetly scented air that is slowly turning into a place of hardship and oppression. Book Trust

From The Book Trail: In 2010 the Jasmin revolution in Tunisia inspired Laila Koubaa to write the story of Azizi and the little blue bird. Inspired by the Arab Spring and the blue birds of Twitter… Crescent Moon – The setting of the novel is a despotic place where every household must display their pictures; free speech is stifled, and the people live in abject fear. The rulers decree that all the blue birds in the land must be captured and locked in a big cage in the courtyard of the palace. But one day, a tiny blue bird escapes and flies to Azizi’s house…. Despite his young age Mattias De Leeuw (1989) is one of the most prolific illustrators of his generation. He is a talented artist who can create a character in a few quick lines. Some reviewers call him the Flemish Quentin Blake.

Here is a list of some similes found in this book:

• as small as a pine nut in a glass of mint tea
• poppies glittering like red diamonds
• like a knight on horseback
• swift as an arrow
• like giant fireworks
• danced like palm trees
• curled like calligraphy

I wonder if this might be a book you could compare with this title from our CBCA 2024 short list which also explores the power of social media.

That Bird has Arms