THE BLUE WINGS

Winner of the Dutch Silver Pen Award, this import examines the bond between a boy and his disabled brother.

Eleven-year-old Josh’s older brother, Jadran—affectionately nicknamed Giant—is 16. But to their mother, Jadran, whose unspecified cognitive disability includes an exceptionally vivid memory and violent outbursts, is Josh’s little brother; Josh is Jadran’s “guardian angel”—which gets harder when their mother’s partner, Murad, and his daughter, Yasmin, move in. Josh, however, is remarkably accepting; the brothers are inseparable. But when Jadran’s impatient attempt to teach an injured crane to fly inadvertently breaks Josh’s leg, requiring Josh to use a wheelchair, Jadran must reside full-time at his special school. Vowing to stay together, Jadran and Josh embark on a daring road trip to release the crane, and Josh learns that Jadran understands more than anyone realized—including the circumstances of their father’s departure. In a thought-provoking role reversal, Jadran becomes a caregiver, and Josh is treated as if he “could no longer answer for [himself].” Unfortunately, the depiction of a disabled character as an eternal child—a pernicious stereotype—prevails here. Despite Jadran’s unique experiences and growing self-assertion, Josh still views him as his little brother at heart; Jadran himself is a heartstrings-yanking plot device. Van der Linden’s black-and-white double-page illustrations introduce each of the book’s multiple parts. Though characters’ races default to white, naming conventions cue Murad and Yasmin as Middle Eastern.

Patronizing depictions of cognitive disability render this portrait of brotherly love disappointingly uneven.