I Saw a Beautiful Woodpecker by Skibinski, Michal

Low stock: 3 left

204mm x 147mm x 17mm

Pages: 128

This award-winning childrens book is one eight-year-old Polish boys evocative diary of the summer of 1939 when World War Two was tragically approaching his country.

It is the summer of 1939 in Warsaw, Poland and Michal is an eight- year-old boy just finishing his school year. In order to improve his handwriting, MichalGÇÖs teacher gives him a simple assignment: keep a journal, writing one sentence a day. Eighty years later, MichalGÇÖs diary has been gorgeously illustrated with beautifully atmospheric paintings. Eloquent in its simplicity, the journal is a remarkable artifact that captures the innocence of childhood and the trauma of war. The journal starts out with a typical boyGÇÖs observations: GǣJuly 15: I went to a stream with my brother and teacher.Gǥ GǣJuly 23: I found a caterpillar.Gǥ However over the course of weeks, menacing details emerge. GǣJuly 27: A plane was circling over Anin.Gǥ GǣSeptember 1: The war has begun.Gǥ GǣSeptember 3: I hid from planes.Gǥ GǣSeptember 14: Warsaw is bravely defending itself.Gǥ These haunting entries are interspersed with visits from relatives, a soccer game, a trip to a park, an ice cream cone. Photographs of pages from MichalGÇÖs diary enhance the poignancy of this simple recordGÇöan ordinary holiday interrupted by war; a life changed forever by an extraordinary moment in history.