The Swallow who Stayed by Philip Giordano translated by Arielle Aaronson

Welcome proof that seasons may come and go, but friendship is forever. Kirkus

Opening sentences. "Every spring Iris returned to the forest where she was born. She was always the first to arrive, appearing suddenly over the tops of the cherry trees."

The seasons change and it time for the swallows to fly south but Iris is worried. 

"What happens to the forest when we leave?"

The other birds fly away but for the first time Iris sees the autumn colours of red and yellow. The oldest swallow has gifted her an acorn necklace for good luck. Winter arrives:

"Now the forest seemed to be sleeping. Iris flew through the silent skies, and it felt like she was the only bird in the world."

It is so cold. Iris lies down in the snow but someone has seen the sparkling acorn - a squirrel named Sam. He gives her a warm home and comfort during the long nights - he even reads to her from his big book. The final sentence of this book will warm your heart. 

This is a book I would share with very young children but also right up to age 9. Highly recommended.

The Swallow who Stayed was originally published in French with the title L'hirondelle qui voulait voir l'hiver.

If you work with older students even at a university level this book is a perfect one to use as an example of fabulous book design and visual literacy. It also has perfect text placement and page turns. You can see more art from this book on the Canadian publisher page.

Here are some other books about bird migration that I highly recommend:

Lucy Goosey

Is this Panama?

Philip Giordano is an Italian illustrator born in a small coastal town in Liguria, of Philippine and Swiss descent. He attended the Brera Fine Arts Academy in Milan, the IED (European Institute of Design) and subsequently gained a Masters in Animation Techniques in Turin. He now lives in Japan. You can see pages from his book I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast here.

My friend spied this book The Swallow who Stayed in a bookstore in Canada - Tanner's Books. We were both very restricted with our luggage and so had to limit our purchases of picture books, especially hardcover ones. This is one of the three books my friend decided to buy and bring home. Here in Australia this book is over AUS$35 while in Canada it was CAN$24.

A modern fable about an iconoclastic swallow who decides to stay. YS Book Reviews

The Swallow who Stayed is not a Canadian picture book (although the English edition is from a Canadian publisher), but it was the editor of this book that caught our eye - Kallie George. Here are some other books by Kallie George:

Find all my blog posts about Kallie George's books here