Feather

A philosophical picture book from one of China’s most celebrated children’s authors and 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award-winner Cao Wenxuan.

A feather is blown across the sky, meeting various birds along the way, and asking each one, Do I belong to you? .

Cao Wenxuan’s Feather tells the story of a single feather that is helplessly swept away on a journey of self discovery and belonging. Encountering a variety of birds, from a kingfisher to a magpie, the feather is hopeful of meeting the the bird it belongs to. Again and again, the feather is dismissed or ignored. Only when it calmly and contentedly accepts that perhaps it is simply a feather with no bird to call its own does fate offer a reunion… Feather’s appeal to young children is derived from a plot that is at once compelling, meditative, and full of adventure, aided by the dynamic, colorful illustrations of Roger Mello.