Esperanza

Jakob Wegelius, illustrated by Jakob Wegelius

Halidon lives with the Captain and earns a living by performing out¬side the covered market in the Town Hall Square. He rides a mono¬cycle and juggles with silver balls. One day when he gets home the Captain is not there but dinner is ready and there is a note saying he has gone out for a while. It feels empty and lonely but it’s not especially unusual. The Captain often goes off. But when Halidon wakes up in the middle of the night and the Captain is still not back, he has to go out and look for him.

It ends up with a search through the winding streets in a dark and empty town. A search that feels more hopeless with every step. A stray dog following him leads to them both being taken by the town’s dogcatcher. Could the captain have sailed away and left Halidon behind without saying goodbye?

Esperanza is a nail-biting tale about Halidon’s search for his close friend. The reader really feels how Halidon feels. This is a book about giving and receiving security and about what it’s like to be able to manage on your own for the first time.