Paper Boat, Paper Bird

A stunning new story from the bestselling, prize-winning David Almond, bringing us the magic that surrounds the everyday. Mina, from the unforgettable Skellig and My Name is Mina, journeys to Japan and discovers another reality that is visible to all of us, if you look closely enough. This wonderful tale transports Mina to Kyoto, Japan, an entirely new and different cultural landscape, where she encounters the magic of origami and an older magic, too. She accepts an origami paper boat from a woman on the bus. ‘Ko-ni-chi-wa,’ says the woman, ‘Take it.’ And then, ‘Float it.’ Mina watches as the woman’s fingers fold another elaborate paper form: creased, tugged and teased into the shape of a paper bird. She imagines what it would be like to be a sheet of paper in the woman’s hands, to become a paper Mina. The crowds around her disappear and Kyoto is gone. This is a beautiful story from one of the masters of magical realism, David Almond, with stunning illustrations from Kirsti Beautyman.