Whisper on the Wind

Claire Saxby

Jess Racklyeft

Allen & Unwin, 2022

34pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99

9781760526887

As Ren lies dreaming in his bed in his bedroom in the lighthouse, a wish goes out his window as a whisper.  And reminiscent of the cumulative style of The House that Jack Built, that whisper makes its way across the waves to its recipient…

This is the wind
that carries the whisper
from Ren’s dream.

This is the sailor,
long at sea,
who catches it.

This is a story for any child (or grown-up) who, in any circumstance or situation,  has had to endure separation and longs for connection and reunion.  If ever there were a match made in heaven between author and artist, then Saxby and Racklyeft are it and the text and illustrations are so seamless that it would seem impossible for to stand without the other.  In themselves, they are examples of connection and reunion and celebration.  

While the nightly news constantly brings us images of families separated by fire, flood, pestilence and war, we must remember that we have children separated by less dramatic causes, and by sharing this gentle, stunning story we can nourish their hopes that their whispers on the wind will be carried and come true too.