Matthew Zajac loves his books. Especially the ones he’s borrowed from the library about the North Pole. The expanses of frozen tundra, the birds soaring in the sky and the animals that roam the ice and snow fascinate him. He doesn’t tell anyone else though. His mum and dad already squabble behind closed doors about him keeping to himself too often.

He doesn’t tell his classmates because his parents are right to worry. He does find it difficult to join in, not good at climbing and running and the other things the kids do in the park. But one day something amazing does happen at the park – not that he knows it at the time. Sitting, reading one of his books, he shares a muffin with a crow that has a broken wing.

A tap tap tap on his bedroom window that night makes Matthew wipe the foggy glass. There stands the crow he saw at the park. An even bigger surprise comes when it introduces itself. “I am Lewis. Lewis Carmichael.”

Lewis is about to take Matthew on the adventure he has always dreamed of – to the ice and wonder of the North Pole.

Matthew is frightened at first, not even sure how to climb out the window, but Lewis shows him all that he can be and do, what is deep down inside him, and has been all along.

The blue font on the pages instead of the usual black is the first surprise in this wonder of a story. The accompanying pencil sketch style illustrations are also in blue and simply beautiful.

A small boy, unsure of himself and where he fits in the world (outside of his library books) experiences an adventure to one of the most inhospitable places on earth, but also the land of his dreams. Each encounter, from controlling a hot air balloon, to meeting dangerous animals on the ice of the North Pole, makes Matthew a little more…  everything he has always wanted to be.

A wonderful adventure for all those who dream of exotic places and finding the courage to embrace all they have to offer.

Author – Sophie Laguna

Illustrator – Marc McBride

Age – 7+

(2021, Allen & Unwin, Fantasy, Adventure, Animals, Action, Courage, Friendship, Birds, Crow, Balloon, Arctic Circle, North Pole, Ice, Cold, Snow, Polar Bear, Arctic Wolves, Walrus, Danger, Rescue, Kindness)