An award-winning author and illustrator offers a beautiful and uplifting adaptation of the beloved Sufi poem Celebrated children's book creator Peter Sis presents his first book for adults with "The Conference of the Birds"--a lyrical and richly illustrated story of love, faith, and the beauty of the human journey. Sis's deeply felt version of the classic twelfth-century Persian epic poem tells the story of a flock of birds in search of the true king, Simorgh, who lives on the mountain of Kaf. Drawn from all species, the flock travels through the seven valleys: quest, love, understanding, detachment, unity, amazement, and death. The birds that endure reach the mountain to learn a profound lesson: that Simorgh the king is, in fact, each of them and all of them.

By joining memory and history, Sís takes us on his extraordinary journey: from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of his art. “I was born at the beginning of it all, on the Red side—the Communist side—of the Iron Curtain.” Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter Sís shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. Sís learned about beat poetry, rock ’n’ roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned