The Little Boy and the Painter

From the pen of emerging writer Marie Burdett comes a haunting tale of a young orphan boy and a solitary cave painter with a crooked finger. The painter reveals to the boy a forbidden realm of cave painting, instilling in him his own philosophies of life. As their relationship deepens, the little boy delves into the brilliant mind of the painter, as unfathomable and inscrutable as the cave they inhabit. While the boy comes to love him, the painter has secrets he is reluctant to share. In addition, the little boy forms a forbidden friendship with a young wolf he calls Krega. The painter and the boy dwell in the cave together until forces beyond their control propel them from their life of painting into the perilous world beyond the walls; the now-revealed secrets threaten even their very lives. Together they face the frigid dangers of the Ice Age, experience the extinct marvels of nature, and encounter the mysterious and memorable "mountain-faces". This free verse novel revives the silhouettes of forgotten people and fleshes them into unforgettable characters who are starkly human and accessible, reflecting on the universality of human emotion and experience. This charming story set against the dramatic backdrop of Prehistoric France and the mysterious Chauvet Cave will take you on an adventure you will never forget.