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Saturday, September 8, 2018

Ocean Meets Sky, by the Fan Brothers. Simon & Schuster, 2018. $21.99 ages 4 and up

"I didn't think the open
sea would feel so lonely,'
Finn said after some time.
This caught the attention
of a great golden fish.
"Do you know where
ocean meets sky?"
Finn asked the fish.
"It's high and low, and as
deep as the sea ... "

Finn lives by the sea; a place his grandfather loved. Finn misses his grandfather and today, on what would have been his 90th birthday, Finn decides to honor him with a voyage to the land his grandfather so often described.

He builds a boat from scraps he finds on the beach and prepares to set sail - but not before he has a short rest. It has been hard work. We he wakes, he finds himself aboard the boat and rolling on the gentle waves of the sea that will surely lead him to the place his grandfather described in his many stories. He is looking for the place where the 'ocean meets the sky'. 

The journey is magical. From the clouds in the sky, to the golden carp (its mustache and goatee are remarkably similar to his grandfather's) who offers to lead the way, past the Library Islands where bookish birds show great interest in stories of adventure and the sea, to the exploration of an island composed of giant shells, and on to his final destination, wonder awaits!

As the boat lifts from the water to join other amazing crafts in a luminescent sky, the pages fill with surreal images of ships, dirigibles, a monstrous blue whale and finally, the brilliance of a full moon which looks remarkably like Finn's beloved grandfather. What a discovery! That moon blows Finn's sturdy little craft toward a voice calling him home for a dumpling dinner.

"It had been a good day for sailing."

There is no way to pay tribute to the amazing quality of this book in words. It evokes a feeling of wonder from start to finish. It is beautifully designed, imaginative beyond measure, and offers a most joyous journey for those sharing it.
                                                                               

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