OCEAN’S CHILD

In deepening evening, a mother and baby, their fur-trimmed hoods glowing like halos, paddle through waters lit in turn by the setting sun, moon, stars and northern lights. As the pair passes a succession of ocean creatures—mother and baby otters, beluga whales, puffins and more—the text lulls listeners with quiet declarative sentences followed by a patterned refrain: “Baby seal drifts off to sleep, / Her flippers on top of her tummy. / To Ocean’s child we say good night. / Good night, little seal, good night.” Diaz’s luminous jewel tones sparkle with reflected light in stylized compositions whose motifs include watery batik and the totemic iconography of First Nation Alaskans. For family sharing, storytimes and individual browsing—lovely all around. (Picture book. 3-6)