Gill Smith’s illustrations for Saving the Butterfly (Walker) by Helen Cooper also lean towards muted grey shades as we see a boy and his older sister, two refugees, rescued from a boat. The boy settles, makes friends, but the girl is haunted by the past and can’t move on until the day her brother brings her a butterfly. As the insect and the girl begin to flourish, the illustrations become as rich and colourful as the butterfly’s wings. A tender tale focusing on the aftermath of conflict, it’s a great companion to Nicola Davies’s The Day War Came (2019).
Observer

with illustrations that find sweetness in sadness, this touching picture book is the resonant story of refugee siblings who have lost everything but each other
The Sunday Times

This is the most beautiful story of loss, fear and hope, tied together with the healing power of nature.
Juno