Running with Wings
Sam Squiers and Lara Porter
New Frontier Publishing

Frankie absolutely loves running; so too does Mimmi. They both seem to live, eat and dream racing and both dream of running in the most spectacular race there is – The BIG One. First though they have to compete in the school carnival on which day every class races the super sprint, 100 metres. However whenever Mimi goes to participate in a race she gets an attack of nerves.

One day while training on the track she sees Frankie running and later notices that she walks with a limp. Introducing herself, Mimmi asks how she manages to run so well.

Frankie quietly shares her secret with Mimmi, “I imagine I have wings on my trainers.” Mimmi expresses a wish for wings too and so Frankie explains what she does just before she runs. As you might expect Mimmi tries imagining wings on her own heels and it certainly speeds her up. Henceforward the two girls become almost inseparable friends training and running together at every opportunity.

Come the day of the school carnival Mimmi’s butterflies return and she needs Frankie’s reassurance to get herself to the starting line. Who crosses that finishing line first though?

After the race Mimmi learns from her buddy that there’s more than one way of winning and she cannot help but agree with Frankie.

This is an empowering tale of dreaming big and holding fast to your dreams, self-belief, resilience and over-coming challenges. With the 2024 Paralympics about to start, this is a good book to share with young children. In the author’s words, ‘With their wings they can run, / With their wings they can soar, / It’s not about the race, / But so much more.’ This is brought out beautifully in Lara Porter’s illustrations.