Review by Booklist Review
Liam's father always returns home from sea with spellbinding tales of his adventures, and Liam dreams of joining him and collecting stories of his own to tell one day. When his father fails to return from a voyage, Liam's love of stories fades. No one else can spin a yarn the way his father could. Eventually, hope arrives in the form of a mysterious, bearded man named Enzo who sailors refer to simply as the Traveler. Enzo can weave a tale as well as Liam's father, and real weaving happens as well: Enzo's beard magically grows with each story, taking elements of the tale into the rainbow-like hairs. When it's time for the Traveler to leave, Liam joins him, finally embarking on his own adventures. Davison's story reads as a fairy tale, and Lambelet's spectacular digital illustrations suit the tone perfectly, giving the impression of flowing thread or grainy wood, and combining rich details with lush, exquisite imagery that floods each spread. Dreamy and delightful from start to finish.--Emily Graham Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Liam's father, a sailor, is a gifted spinner of tales, and a trailing plume of smoke laced with pirates and mermaids illustrates his transfixing stories. After his father doesn't return from a voyage, though, Liam grieves, and otherwise colorful spreads show him in black-and-white. Then, another champion storyteller, Enzo, arrives in Liam's port town. When he spins tales, "his beard grew. And grew. And grew, until each story he told wove from his face like a tapestry." Enzo asks Liam to join him on his final ocean voyage, and Liam comes alive again as the two sail the world. In the end, Liam receives a final gift from Enzo, and he realizes that he has one of his own to share. Debut author Davison writes gracefully, but though she extols the power of a good yarn, her own tale is more of a wistful journey through grief than the kind of enthralling adventure that her characters prize. With the exception of one spread, which relies on generic, stereotypical imagery of indigenous people, the fine-grained, full-color artwork by Lambelet (Maria the Matador) swirls with fantastical imagery that reinforces the transporting power of stories. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A boy finds joy, loss, healing, and love in the power of storytelling.In cap and suspenders, Liam waves from a dock as his father sets sail across the opening endpages. Reunited, the two embrace before the burly sailor spins tales of his adventures in front of a crackling fire, as mermaids, treasures, and shark-infested waters swirl to life. But when his father sets out again and doesn't return, Liam's world turns gray and stories lose their pull, until an old traveler arrives with a magic beard who is able to weave words into pictures. Together, the two journey across the world, and Liam learns to really look and listen, and when the time comes for him to tell a story, he finds his father in stories told, in adventures taken, and in the weaving of words and sharing of stories. Fanciful illustrations are meticulously drawn, and the artist uses geometric shapes stylized to appear sculpted, reminiscent of a stop-motion animated picture. The cool, bright color palette is used to great effect as all turns gray to depict grief and loss, with color returning in the traveler's stories and in their journey together. Skilled compositional designs showcase the flowing nature of the tales at sea and the traveler's beard's ability to hold the memory of adventure and become a metaphor for journey and growth. Liam and his father present white; the traveler has brown skin; Liam's 19th-century seaside town is largely white but has a few residents of color.Lambelet's luscious, cinematic artwork will transport readers. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
