posted on 27 Aug 2024

Milko by Samuel and Freda Narh, illustrated by Alisa Knatko

This is a beautifully illustrated picture book about big and difficult emotions. This is reflected in the dominance of the pictures with colours that bleed to the edge of the pages and so dominate the available space with minimal poetic text. 

The story is about Milko and his younger sister Abena who are both missing their dear Mama who has travelled to Ethiopia for a year-long visit, leaving them in the care of their Papa in Bolivia. Despite frequent video calls, they express their keen and painful feelings of loss in different ways. Abena is full of rage and cries all the time, whereas Milko’s sorrow is quieter and contemplative.

Poor Papa is shown looking understandably tired with a furrowed brow as he tries to manage the everyday domestic challenges of porridge boiling over, the pets chasing one another in a small space, and trying to remember what food he needs to buy from the market. Everyone is coping, but everything feels so different without Mama.

The skilful illustrations help to convey the complexity of his feelings. For example, Milko is shown against the backdrop of his local hills whilst inside the shape of his mother’s head set against a mountain landscape – they are physically far apart but integral to one another. The days pass very slowly and he notices how the seasons change which help him to articulate his feelings:

‘Milko misses Mama like leaves

long for the rain this dry season.’

I loved the way in which he is later shown looking out of the window at the night sky in a double page spread suffused with blue: 

‘Just then, another

 question soars across his mind like

 a wild dove from the East.’

The next pages repeat the cover illustration with him shown taking comfort from warm memories of her embrace and the food that she cooks for him. This is expressed as a profusion of soft pink flowers that surround him – he looks peaceful and content. As he counts the days to her return, he tries to make sense of the different time zones between the two countries and spends more time gazing out of the window and sleeping with a mirror in his hand to reflect his secret, silent tears. 

Whatever their age, all readers will identify with the frustrating slowness of time when waiting for a longed- for event. This gentle story will prompt much discussion about personal experiences and how the absence of a loved one can be difficult to manage. This one has a happy ending with the final page showing Milko’s smiling face.   

 I recommend this thought- provoking picture book produced by Chasing a Spider Publishing which should be available from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

 

Karen Argent

August 2024