Review by Booklist Review
A spindle-legged heron helps a child's dreams come true as the pair spends an ebullient day splashing and soaring together. Galoshes on, a curly-haired explorer comes toe-to-toe with a great blue heron at sunrise: "I tiptoe, rush . . . and pause," the boy says, drawing alongside the heron in the water. Together, they "shriek, splash . . . and share" snacks, playing the day away. Blue flies off at sunset but returns after dark "with a swoosh, swoop, and quiet settle." With the boy atop Blue's back, they soar "above campfires and shooting stars" on a moonlit journey before saying "good night but not goodbye." Spare, descriptive language suits the streamlined palette of the illustrations, which feature the joyous protagonist and avian playmate in a foamy surf with various coastal cues. T he child's bedroom reveals bird-infatuated touches including costume wings, a mobile, and a clearly beloved stuffed animal, inviting the reader to decide whether the day's adventure was real or imagined. A whimsical wish-fulfillment tale for any child whose loves loom larger than life.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The companionable relationship between a human protagonist and a blue heron forms the buoying heart of this wonder-filled work from Kaufman (All Are Welcome). First-person narration begins at daybreak as a brown-skinned child sporting galoshes carefully approaches regal avian Blue: "I tiptoe,/ rush.../ and pause...// ...echoing Blue's stillness." Before long, the unlikely pair frolics among a shoreline's reeds, rejoicing in play ("We are wild./ We are free..."). Multimedia art has a loose, calligraphic quality as scenes cast in inky blues are illuminated with light emanating first from a warm, buttery sun and then a glowing, oversize moon. At sunset, "with an incredible leap and a mighty flap,/ Blue takes flight," leading to a few hopeful beats and a starry, soaring adventure for both creatures that lasts until the child's human body demands descent ("Up high, the air is thin and cold"). When it's time to "say good night/ but not goodbye," visual details (a costume, a mobile, a stuffy) tucked into closing domestic scenes leave the evening's events open to interpretation, making for a meditative wish-fulfillment fantasy that leans into both adventure and security. Ages 4--8. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--A boy with tan skin and curly hair runs out to the beach, where he befriends a great blue heron and the two frolic all day long in the surf. There is an enchanting simplicity to the narrative presentation, with the boy's bedroom window looking right out on the ocean and nary an adult in sight. The thoughtful design of the expressive mixed-media art creates a subtle progression, both temporal and emotional. Early on, playful vignettes appear against a sandy, speckled background the color of the dunes at the water's edge. Later, once the sun has set, immersive full-bleed illustrations take over, awash in the rich blue-blacks of the night sky and the sea. The powerful, kinetic composition of the images would sustain this story, even as a wordless picture book. Yet Kaufman's concise, well-chosen phrases ("We shriek, splash…and share. We are wild. We are free…chasing the afternoon sun") add a vital poetic dimension to the work. In a thrilling, joyous sequence that recalls The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, boy and bird soar through the night sky together before bidding each other a fond farewell at dawn's first light. Young readers may spot the heron-themed apparel in the boy's bedroom on the final spreads (a costume mask with feathered wings, a model dangling from the ceiling, and a stuffed toy) and debate its significance: Do these play items hint that the day spent with the bird was a mere flight of fancy? Or was it all real? Kaufman wisely leaves the answer a mystery, with a poignant final view of the boy from behind as he gazes out at a sliver of sun. VERDICT A stirring delight, recommended for all collections.--Jonah Dragan
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Review by Horn Book Review
A curly-headed child, clad in a striped shirt, shorts, and rubber boots, spends the day with a great blue heron named Blue. The two "shriek, splash...and share" in the water. They play together and, as the sun sets, stretch their "wings, feeling our feathers ruffle in the cool air." Then the heron flies away, leaving the child bereft yet still hopeful. Happily, Blue returns to take the protagonist on a ride through the night sky. Eventually, cold and tired, the child realizes it's time to go home, later falling asleep in a warm bed while hugging a stuffed heron to "dream of meeting again." Kaufman uses few words for this lyrical story of a young person's imaginative journey. Her soft, flowing paintings are done in watercolor in shades of blue, black, and yellow with charcoal, pastel, and pencil. The watery setting is well served by the artistic medium: waves splash across the page, and sunlight spreads across the sky. A lovely celebration of the natural world and a child's dreamlike place in it. Maeve Visser KnothJuly/August 2025 p.76 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A young child frolics by the seashore with a strikingly beautiful bird. One morning, a tan-skinned, curly-haired youngster spots a great blue heron (an uncommon species whose inclusion will interest young readers) through the window. Decorations adorning the bedroom make it clear that the protagonist has long wished for an encounter like this one. After the child approaches slowly, "echoing Blue's stillness," the pair spend the day chasing, shrieking, and doing some tastefully depicted skinny-dipping, all sensorily described with a "swoosh, swoop, and quiet settle." Graceful and oversize Blue isn't overly anthropomorphized, making the duo's interactions feel fittingly "wild" and "free." When night arrives, Blue flies away but grants the hopeful child's wish by returning to carry the little one high in the indigo sky, "over campfires and shooting stars." Back home at last, the child hugs a stuffed heron and begins to "dream of meeting again." The poetic, evocative narrative captures a potent mix of excitement and yearning that may leave readers wondering whether the extraordinary journey really took place or whether it was only in the bird-loving child's imagination. Kaufman boldly leaves it to readers to decide. No matter what they choose, her illustrations are delightful. Her compositions are masterful, with whimsically sketchy sun-dappled daytime vignettes of the friends in the fizzy surf contrasting with ethereal, star-studded double-page spreads that feel appropriately endless. A whimsical, luminous romp.(Picture book. 3-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
