Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音

Leo and Ralph, by award-winning author Peter Carnavas, is the winner of the 2025 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards – Children’s Literature.

The story follows the boy Leo, who loves space and knows everything about it. Trouble is, he finds it difficult to make friends with kids his age, who are always faster, more physically active, and far more eager to participate in games and sports.

Whenever Leo tries to communicate his ideas or ask questions about the universe, the other kids are either baffled or bored. “They didn’t care for the size of his thoughts or the time it took to share them, and they butted in or walked away before he finished talking.”

Knowing his parents are worried about him being withdrawn and lonely, Leo tries but fails to make even one friend at school – so he decides to make up one. His imaginary friend is Ralph, an alien from one of Jupiter’s moons. They soon become the best of mates.

However, when Leo’s family has to relocate to another town, the boy has to part with his best friend. His emotional and psychological struggles to adapt to a new life form the backbone of the story, constantly tugging at the readers’ heartstrings.

“He couldn’t imagine doing anything without Ralph. Before they met, he was like an asteroid, orbiting the other kids, not knowing what to do. As soon as Ralph arrived, school became less scary, the grown-ups stopped worrying and Leo had the friend of his dreams. He didn’t want to go back to the way things were, especially in a place where he didn’t know anyone.”

Perhaps the most heartwarming part of the story is how Leo’s family respects his personal space, allowing him to experience life at his own pace. They smile whenever Leo sticks out his pinky finger for his imaginary friend to hold. They even set an extra place at the table and wait for Ralph to buckle up in the backseat before backing the family car out of the driveway.

Leo’s primary school teachers also accept him just the way he is, neither patronising nor belittling the boy’s interests in constellations, space travels and UFO sightings. They make Ralph a name tag and let him sit at Leo’s desk, warning with wink: “If I hear one peep from your furry little friend, if he interrupts me just once, he’ll be out, lickety-split. Understand?”

Of course the boy nods. “Everyone left him to the things that made him happy: Ralph, the telescope and the endless world above.” Leo is allowed to thrive in his own way, without having to change or conform for other people’s sake. That is the best support any child can have when growing up remains a journey with unexpected and unpredictable twists and turns.

This is a gentle and fun story suitable for readers aged 8-12 years. Highly recommended.

Note: This book review was originally titled “A story about understanding and growing up” and published under the title “A story about growing” by Ranges Trader Star Mail, February 24, 2026, P.14.