Review by Frank Plowright
Set during in 1941 during World War II, When the Sky Falls promises the instantly engaging premise of the contact between a young boy and a caged gorilla. Endearingly, author Phil Earle’s introduction recalls being told so often as a child that comics, his preferred reading, had no value. He therefore takes particular delight in Fred Fordham’s adaptation of his work.
Primary character Joseph isn’t the young adult novel stereotype of the good kid making the best of bad circumstances. He’s angry and first shown being met by his new guardian at a London station, but after he’s stolen a package. Family circumstances are hinted at, but Joseph’s gran can no longer cope with his behaviour, so calls in a favour from Margaret Farrelly, or Mrs F as Joseph is to address her. She’s kind, but no-nonsense, and Joseph is to live with her.
Fordham’s illustration evokes the bleak times and sorrowful emotions beautifully, every panel fully detailed in showing the devastation of frequent bombing raids and those doing their best to survive. Joseph’s resentment is mirrored by the caged gorilla in the zoo Mrs F. runs. Fordham introduces Adonis carefully, at first only showing shadows within a cage or an arm emerging between bars, with the compositions selected to emphasise isolation and loneliness. The visual implications are subtle, but young readers are likely to make the intended connection.
Hardships and economic realities of a nation at war are reinforced, not least the extra burden of caring for animals in a zoo no-one can visit, and while Joseph at his age is naturally self-absorbed, that others have problems is constantly reinforced even if the problems aren’t specified. By the end, though, we know everyone’s story and how they connect.
Earle will surprise younger readers with the brutality standard in mid-20th century British schools, all the more shocking for those readers able to recognise Joseph has dyslexia, a condition undiagnosed in the 1940s. Bringing greater awareness to Joseph as barriers drop is a long process, carefully cultivated through conversation and observation, and coupled with memorable scenes. Mrs F, for instance, has to spend every night not in the bomb shelter, but in the zoo with a rifle. Will Chekov’s literary rule about a rifle shown eventually having to be used apply?
Despite the prevailing melancholy tone, this is eventually a story of triumph over adversity for pretty well every major character, although the novel ends before that fully occurs. The book’s first pages feature quotes from other children’s authors tripping over themselves to praise Earle’s original novel, and Fordham delivers all the sadness amid exemplary art. It’s magnificent.
