Matt Rockefeller

In a fantasy world, a little boy grieving the death of his mother sets off on a dangerous quest in search of some sort of answer to all the questions he has and the emotions he is feeling.

His adventures are largely told in pantomime and the few words strung through the book are promoted as being part of a palindrome, though not a traditional palindrome, operating more on a phrase level rather than individual letters. Instead of, "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!" we are offered:

"She was gone. show more And besides that, he no longer believed . . . they would make it." (The opening line.)

"They would make it. And besides that, he no longer believed . . . she was gone." (The closing line.)

The subject matter may be too heavy for some children, and having to interpret all the pictures may be frustrating to parents who just want to mindlessly read words at bedtime.

It's ambitious and aims for uplifting in the end, but it's just not a fun read-aloud experience. show less

These illustrations capture the imagination and lead on a fantastical journey to delight the adventurer and encourage the soul.

A boy feels lost after the death of his mother and wanders into the forest, deeper than he should go. From there a grabbing, graphic adventure begins, which draws into a world of wonder.

This book is an illustrative delight. There is some text but just enough to set the stage and add needed highlights here and there to guide the tale through. The rest is a visual show more quest, which takes the boy on a rich journey of discovery, surprises, tension, and growth. The details are imaginative and awaken fascination. While the main thread of the boy's journey is clear, there's quite a bit of room for each reader to notice different moments and take everything in on a more personal direction. In other words, each reader will have subtle differences in how they see the boy's journey. Even visiting these images time and again will lead to new discoveries and let dreams fly each time. It flows a bit like a graphic novel with smaller panels overlayed on the main one...like a picture book hugging the graphic novel form. This keeps the tension high the entire way through.

While this book does handle grief, it is subtle. The reader needs to read a little between the lines, but it's still clear what the boy's problem is. While the first scene gives a basic impression of the relationship and worries the boy and his father have, the rest bounds into discovery and danger, keeping uncertainty close. This changes more toward the end into amazement with new-found understanding. The grief theme slides through as a very gentle side to the rich fantasy, drawing more meaning toward the end to wrap off with a final sense of hope.

These graphics are enjoyable for even adults to gaze through, and the meaning behind them carries enough depth to have this oldest age group thinking. I'm not sure the youngest end of the intended age group will catch much more than the basic message, since there is quite a bit of visual symbolism going on, but the older end of the intended reader level will be able to sink into the moment. It's masterfully woven and glides through the theme with wisdom and never a sense of preachy purpose. show less

A child is not sure how he and his father are going to move forward after the death of his mother.

This book was interesting in concept, although I am very much not the target audience. The text is extremely limited, instead allowing much of the story to be told and interpreted through the elaborate illustrations. The illustrations are quite beautiful, with this detailed fantasy world depicted in a watercolor style. However, since I am not really much of a high fantasy person, that meant the show more book wasn't really for me.

I love the idea of tackling grief in a picture book format so even little ones can relate, but I felt that perhaps this title might be a bit too esoteric for them to actually understand. Obviously grief is a topic that adult caregivers will want to actually talk to a child about and not just hand them a book to figure out on their own, but it did feel like this book would open up as many questions as it would answer anything. Arguably the point of this title could be to serve as a conversation starter, but I appreciate when a book can both open up discussion but also be understood on its own without an adult having to explain to a child reader what's going on. Perhaps I am not giving young readers enough credit in being able to digest and interpret this title to a decent degree on their own. show less

The palindromic story takes a boy on a journey through grief to ask his mother for assurance that she was glad to have been mom, and back home to his father. Intricate, sumptuous illustrations, complete with detailed borders, show the journey.

"She was gone.
And besides that, he no longer believed...
they would make it."
...
"They would make it.
And besides that, he no longer believed...
She was gone."