When a sailor decides he can’t bear life on ship anymore, he jumps overboard and swims to a big barren rock, just to be on his own. Before long some passing sailors notice that the rock is changing; rice and vegetables are growing, and they wonder who is tending the earth. The question is will the lonely sailor welcome their friendship?

This beautifully illustrated story is set in the sixteenth century against the backdrop of the voyages of discovery. The protagonist and nameless sailor, embittered by a lengthy time at sea, has become in his own words ‘a monster’. So, deciding he can’t bear to be around others anymore, he jumps overboard and swims to a big barren rock, in order to be on his own. Once there, he comes across some rice and a cockerel and before long he’s growing fruit and vegetables, tending the rock and as a result drawing unwanted attention on himself. Visiting sailors bring plants and eventually he is summoned to meet the Portuguese Queen, which he does somewhat reluctantly. And there begins the start of his recovery.

The Faraway Island is essentially a tale of the melting and mending of a heart. Our hardened sailor has given up on himself and needs to learn to trust others and see value in himself. By the end of the book our faith is duly restored in humanity and our ability to heal. Perseverance, forgiveness and belief are common themes in traditional and folk tales and that is not where the similarities with this book end. The text has a lyrical quality and would make a good oral story.

A clue may come in the story’s origin, for historians among you will be interested to know the picturebook is based upon the true story of Fernando Lopez and the island of St Helena, although some of the grittier detail is avoided. The final pages provide some historical background that may be of use to teachers wishing to share this book as part of a study of the period. Otherwise, besides the written text, please enjoy the book for its gentle illustrations that beautifully capture a different time.

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2008-08-03