Age 3-6

In the light of In the Picture, the Scope campaign that aims for more children with disabilities to be represented in children’s literature, this lovely picturebook warrants wide dissemination. It is a fairy tale about a young prince who is deaf. His deafness is the result of a Moonchild blowing bubbles, which means that he “hears different sounds in a different way”, including voices in pools and the song of the Moonbird. This may not be the experience of most deaf children, but the point of the story is that those around the prince learn to understand the child’s perspective and the meaning of sign language as well as the power of beauty and imagination. And the disappointment of the boy’s parents, the king and queen, when they realise their baby cannot hear or speak, is in itself a blindness and a deafness. The illustrations by Jane Ray, with their extravagant characters, turreted cities, stylised gardens, decorative creatures, foliage and hairdos (one containing a bird’s nest), are all exquisitely patterned with circles, stars, dapples, dots and curlicues and are delicately and ravishingly coloured.

(Walker £10.99)

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