A beautiful if rather sprawling beach book.
Jay’s distinctive media and style combine to present a wordless, fantastic beach story of adventure and compassion.
Cover art, frontmatter and opening illustrations introduce key characters and objects, aligning readers with the boy protagonist in his beachcombing activity as they search the pictures for detail. The boy meets a little girl who joins him in his play, but then everyone out at sea and on the beach flees for cover when a storm rolls in. The boy retreats to his lighthouse home, the next day waking to see a giant octopus that has emerged “out of the blue” and been washed up on the beach. Others have netted it to the ground, but when the boy discovers that it’s still alive, he acts with the girl and others to free it and pull it back to sea. The oil paintings with crackling varnish are stunning in their narrative clarity as panels establish temporal sequence. On the other hand, the story reads like two pieces forced together—the beachcombing-play scenario and then the octopus story, and pacing would have been improved with a shorter first piece. Backmatter pages provide information about giant octopi, lighthouses, tides, jellyfish and other story details, but these aren’t rich in content and end up seeming superfluous.
A beautiful if rather sprawling beach book. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: June 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-78285-042-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it.
What happens when a robot washes up alone on an island?
“Everything was just right on the island.” Brown beautifully re-creates the first days of Roz, the protagonist of his Wild Robot novels, as she adapts to living in the natural world. A storm-tossed ship, seen in the opening just before the title page, and a packing crate are the only other human-made objects to appear in this close-up look at the robot and her new home. Roz emerges from the crate, and her first thought as she sets off up a grassy hill—”This must be where I belong”—is sweetly glorious, a note of recognition rather than conquest. Roz learns to move, hide, and communicate like the creatures she meets. When she discovers an orphaned egg—and the gosling Brightbill, who eventually hatches—her decision to be his mother seems a natural extension of her adaptation. Once he flies south for the winter, her quiet wait across seasons for his return is a poignant portrayal of separation and change. Brown’s clean, precise lines and deep, light-filled colors offer a sense of what Roz might be seeing, suggesting a place that is alive yet deeply serene and radiant. Though the book stands alone, it adds an immensely appealing dimension to Roz’s world. Round thumbnails offer charming peeks into the island world, depicting Roz’s animal neighbors and Brightbill’s maturation.
A hymn to the intrinsic loveliness of the wild and the possibility of sharing it. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: June 24, 2025
ISBN: 9780316669467
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2025
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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