A bird who dreams of freedom and a lonely taxi driver take a heartwarming and humorous road trip to the South.
Author: Kristiina Lähde, Julia Vuori (illustrations)
Finnish original: Arhippa. Nokka kohti etelää
Publisher: WSOY, 2016
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Fiction
Number of pages: 30 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English translation, Swedish translation
Archie is a little canary who one day loses her appetite and starts singing a strange, melancholy song. She’ll have to go to the doctor, and it’s a long trip. On the way there, Archie and her driver Swisher learn what’s ailing her, she makes a pillow out of a sweetbun, and something happens that is so big and mysterious that it changes the whole course of their adventure.
“Archie thought until her tail quivered: I’m inside a cage! I’m inside a car! I’m inside a
great, big autumn! Cheep!”
Then she closed her eyes and calmed down.
“The cage disappears when I close my eyes,” Archie said.
“You probably dream of freedom,” said Swisher.
Archie Goes South is a philosophical, comical, and touching story of a little bird and a taxi driver named Swisher and the great friendship that takes them, and the reader, from the middle of the autumn to the warm heart of spring.
Also available:
Archie in a Tizzy (2021)
Archie in the Spring (2019)
About the authors:
Kristiina Lähde
Julia Vuori