Age 5+
This is a picturebook for anyone who has a soft spot for Italy. It is the touching story of an elderly man who finds a small sick bird in a nest as he is restoring the stucco and the statues on the front of an old church in Rome. Angelo takes the pigeon home, names her Sylvia, and nurses her until she is well. She begins to watch him as he works, accompanies him on trips to the countryside, and has a sideline in busking in the piazzas. And when he becomes tired and ill himself, the pigeon is there to help him complete the restoration that is his crowning achievement. Eventually, Angelo's thank-you gift to the bird is preserved in the facade of the church forever. Drawn skilfully and freely in pen and ink, washed with shades of blue and terracotta, the pictures are full of events and details beyond the story, and depict the rooftops, the restaurants and the light of Italy in a way that makes you long to be there. Macaulay's affection for the place as well as for the characters is evident in his lovingly observed scenes. Although the plot is quirky and the caricatures are sometimes comical, the dominant tone is tender and poignant. The central friendship between man and bird, and the theme of an enduring bond recall Oscar Wilde's short story The Happy Prince, except that this book loves statues without turning them into living things

Angelo by David Macaulay
Andersen Press £5.99

Times Recommends

• The 100 Best Books of the Decade
• The Times picks the 50 best paperbacks of 2009
• The conversation: James Ellroy