I particularly like the way publisher Elsewhere Editions has given equal weighting to the author, illustrator and translator on the front cover and title page of the book. It is beautifully presented in every way, from the hardback cover to the glossy, brightly-coloured pages. The book is an unusual design: it is a slim landscape edition with pages of two different sizes, the wider ones held in place by a rigid jacket flap. And, the abstract feather motif appears on each double spread – a reminder of the story’s main character. Sometimes, these are shown as simple repeated shapes filled with solid colour in other illustrations, birds are depicted on traditional blue-and-white Chinese vases. Mello also incorporates vases into his designs, which lend contrast and additional interest to the page. The heron’s neck is a graceful, sinuous swirl of purple and grey geese stretch out their wings across the double page spread the peacock looks supercilious, yes, but its multicoloured plumage is magnificent. I think they also serve to soften the story by emphasising the beauty of nature and art. Roger Mello’s illustrations breathe glorious life and colour into every page. ‘In fact, Feather’s journey of riding the wind, her journey of questioning, is really the human journey of searching for a sense of belonging.’ As he states in the introduction to this longer-style picture book: This is not just a story about the natural world Cao Wenxuan portrays the unpredictability, challenges and brutality of everyday existence. Who wouldn’t be bereft of courage after that episode? What a relief, then, when Feather finds a happy home on terra firma at the end! But all comes crashing down on the next page as she watches a fierce hawk dive through the air towards her new friend (the reader is spared the gory details but it’s a terrible moment). In one joyous scene, Feather does meet a warm-hearted skylark, who takes her flying high into the sky – something Feather has been longing for. You have to admire Feather’s quiet persistence as she fails time and again to find the bird to which she belongs, but continues her search nonetheless. The birds she meets are often so focused on their own activities that they initially ignore her query, or in the case of the peacock, are rude and dismissive. On each encounter, Feather’s question is the same: ‘Am I yours?’ and so is the reply: ‘You are not mine’, like a refrain running through the story. The strong gusts do bring her into contact with a wide variety of birds – a kingfisher, a cuckoo, a heron and a flock of geese to name a few. She is at the mercy of the elements, blown this way and that by the wind and, on calm days, forced to lie in the grass or leaves where she has fallen. She is blown by the wind and rejected by many birds before finding her true home.įeather is on a quest to find the bird she belongs to, but it is no easy journey. Feather is searching for the bird she belongs to.