Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
During a watery outdoor outing, a child embarks on a captivating adventure in Lundberg's richly illustrated evocation of early independence. Realistic-feeling dialogue sets the tone: "Do you know what, Mom?... You're the pier. And I'm the boat." After proudly untying the knot that tethers a small raft to a dock's piling, the pale-skinned youth floats away from their mother as storytelling turns wordless. Lush, thickly colored paintings trace the protagonist's journey through a stand of mangroves to an active urban waterway to a water park where another child gives them a seed. Moving on to a forest, their raft capsizes, but a group of leaf-clad, sprite-like creatures who have appeared throughout provide help and warming comfort. Slightly shaken,the youth returns to Mom for a reassuring embrace, and the pair reflect on when the child's seed might sprout. Unfolding via panels and full-bleed spreads, shadowy and dreamy artwork yields a meditative visual telling about solo exploration. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4--7. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In this Swedish import, a youngster's imagination (or is it reality?) leads to quite the summer adventure. The story begins with a pale-skinned mother and child at an outdoor swimming spot. With Mom's prompting, the child puts on a life jacket, then sets off in an inflatable boat while Mom is gabbing with another parent. The protagonist floats through a jungle, observed by children who seem to live in the trees, winds through a town in which citizens apparently don't notice the little one (although the jungle children, who have followed along, do), and plunges down a waterfall. The jungle kids rescue the little one and shepherd the child back to the swimming spot, where Mom's still yakking. Has any time elapsed? It's all veryWhere the Wild Things Are, although the illustrations, which resemble impressionistic, ultra-saturated watercolors, are uniquely Lundberg's. The story is wordless throughout the pages in which the child is out of Mom's sight line; the mother-and-child dialogues before and after the adventure are the book's only text--and the story's emotional core. So, was the journey all in the youngster's mind? It seems likely, and yet an object that looks like a souvenir of the little one's travels suggests otherwise. This maybe-fantastical story of a child's burgeoning independence rewards the open-minded and the keen-eyed.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
