SAILING WITH ANGELS

A princess takes a sailing journey to make peace with her grief in Sullivan’s picture book debut.

Princess Briel (who has pale skin and dark hair) is introduced in the book’s first poem as she floats on a sea that reflects the stars. As she sits near her cabana, she realizes that the tides of time are wearing away at her memories of those she has lost. One morning, while searching for sea glass, she discovers a talisman. The following poems feature characters from Briel’s life who may be angels. Briel sets sail on a journey through memories of her loved ones; she realizes, “For though the past may drift away, / Their presence sails with her each day.” Sullivan’s scansion and rhymes are solid, with beautiful imagery woven throughout the text. The words of wisdom, with their nautical bent, are also strong, but the mystical voyage Briel takes through her grief may be hard for young readers to navigate, making this picture book potentially more meaningful to adult readers. Bennett’s illustrations, which make tremendous use of color as an accent rather than a default, do a lot of narrative lifting. Her drawing of angel boats is lovely in its own right, but some of the images showing Briel smiling, especially at the beginning, before she sets out on her journey, don’t match the poetry’s tone.

A poetic journey through loss that may take multiple reads to truly hit home.