David Almond, the award-winning author of such acclaimed titles as Skellig and Kit’s Wilderness, has penned a clever, touching novel that explores big themes through the tiniest of protagonists with The Tale of Angelino Brown.
Bert and Betty Brown live an ordinary life, Bert as a bus driver and Betty as a school cook. Each of their days look much the same as the last, until one day something completely unexpected happens: Bert finds an angel in his shirt pocket. And just like that, the arrival of this heavenly being with a penchant for sweets transforms their world, making everything a little bit lovelier than it was before. Even the other drivers at Bert’s bus station and the students at Betty’s school are taken by little Angelino’s charms as they begin to teach him about the world. But not everyone believes in angels or thinks them lovely, and soon Angelino is facing threats from shadowy figures. Can his new friends keep him safe, or will this little creature provide the salvation?
In his signature witty style, Almond has crafted a tale that expresses universal truths that all of us, especially adults, need reminding of from time to time. In this luminous story, those gone astray are given second chances, and grown-ups are reminded of the joy and wisdom of childhood. Ultimately, this book is a celebration of and a love letter to the incomprehensible beauty of the world, and the power that beauty has to transform us, if only we allow it.
