The Boy and the Sea

March 29, 2021
Through a boy who finds himself drawn to the sea below his family’s cottage, Andros (the Charlotte the Scientist books) chronicles a longing for answers to life’s big questions. Bates (Gittel’s Journey) paints a white child with curly black hair crouched at the edge of the surf, listening to the sea’s “whispers,” his ear pressed against a seashell. Prose lines by Andros rock like waves as the child grows older, mulling over never-stated questions, and the sea shares its wisdom: “Dream,” it seems to tell him. And, when he gets older still, “Love.” Expressive paintings by Bates, classic in style, convey drama and motion through mounding clouds and crashing waves (“From time to time,/ the sea was/ dark and dangerous..../ Other times,/ the sea was/ tranquil and tender”). A white girl appears in the pages, then two children; the now-grown boy is a father. “He thought by being grown,/ he’d finally know the answers/ to his questions./ But he did not.” The ever-suspended state of wondering may put off readers looking for action and certainty; instead, the sea offers endless transformations, which Bates portrays with compelling force. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Lori Kilkelly, LK Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt.

April 15, 2021
A boy's life is steered by and reflected in his relationship with the sea. In a series of swirling, impressionistic, watercolor seascapes, a dark-haired, white-skinned boy is pictured at different life stages: as a young child; as a grown man with a family; and as an old man. At each stage, he receives a meaningful message from the sea. His moods are reflected in the moods of the sea, sometimes "dark and dangerous," sometimes "tranquil and tender." As the boy moves through the life stages, both he and the sea feel "the pull of something more." He looks to the sea for answers to life's questions, and sometimes they are answered--but just with a word: dream, love, be. Even when he is grown, he still does not know the answers to his questions. In its coverage of an entire life's span, the book seems to be attempting to provide a universal message of guidance for growing up, but it's too general and lacking in any kind of strong connection to be of value or of interest to a developing child. Small vignettes hint at adolescent conflicts, but so obliquely and superficially as to be valueless and at times obscure--particularly given that the audience for this book has not yet reached adolescence. That said, Bates' paintings are lovely, capturing foamy, cresting waves in varying degrees of vigor; this seascape is never still. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.5-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 50% of actual size.) Life's questions remain unanswered in this attractive but frustratingly bland book. (Picture book. 6-8)

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July 1, 2021

Gr 2-4-A boy grows up near the sea. Whenever he has a question, he turns to the sea for answers. As he grows up, he discovers more and more questions, but the sea is always there for him to sit by, ponder, and listen. In these peaceful moments, absorbed by the sights and sounds of the sea, the boy hears one-word answers from the churning waves: dream, love, be. As the boy grows into an old man, the artwork implies that he passes his meditative appreciation for the sea to his son. Because the boy does not have a name, the text has universal themes of longing for peace and answers to life's questions. However, the tender artwork depicts a singular boy's experiences, masculine and heteronormative, which are not described in the text. This choice limits the universal appeal of the poetic words. The boy has light skin and characters of other skin tones occasionally appear in the background. Watercolor seascapes are beautiful, with shells, crabs, and reflections in wet sand. VERDICT A warm-hearted story that many will find solace in. Recommended for purchase.-Chance Lee Joyner, Haverhill P.L., MA

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
In a gentle story that follows a character from childhood to old age, readers are prompted to ponder what the ocean teaches us. "Once there was a boy who lived by the sea," the book opens, as the child and his grandfather sit at the shore. The protagonist loves and identifies with the ocean; as he grows, he is, by turns, "dark and dangerous" and "tranquil and tender," just like the churning waves. The contemplative boy faces adolescent highs and lows, always returning to the water. The ways in which the ocean speaks to the boy (as well as some of his teenage troubles) are somewhat vague; but ocean lovers everywhere will relate to the pull of the water. The narrative comes full circle in the end, with the protagonist now an elderly man. "Once there was a boy who lived by the sea" is his grandson. Bates's striking illustrations are rendered in shades of teal and cerulean with warm touches of coral, and her panoramic views of the sky above the shoreline capture light magnificently.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)