As Time Went by
by Jose Sanabria (Author)
2017 Batchelder Honor Book and ALA Notable Book
Once upon a time there was a ship that sailed beside the sun with very important people on board. The spirit of reinvention - and the importance we place on things - is beautifully expressed in José Sanabria's visually evocative story. A steamship makes a journey across time from luxury and exclusivity, industry and abandonment, to stewardship and inclusion as we see the evolving functions of the ship and the changing faces of the people who cherish it most of all.
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Publishers Weekly
In a tale written in three parts, Colombian illustrator Sanabria tells the story of a group of homeless people who find a wonderfully unexpected place to live. In the first section, he traces the downward slide of a once-majestic ocean liner that "sailed beside the sun." Ladies with bustles and parasols who walk the deck are replaced by cargo and fishing nets before the ship is abandoned, the palette fading from rich color to dreary browns. Next, Sanabria introduces a wealthy family whose fortunes change; they are forced into drearier neighborhoods until eventually being pushed to the harbor with other luckless residents, the colors fading page by page here, too. In the final section, the people climb rope ladders up to the deck of the ship and haul their furniture aboard. A man "who had loved the sea since he was a boy" helps them rebuild, and the ship sails again. The triumph isn't shown in the tone, which stays restrained, but in the colors, which reappear in confetti and flowers. Objects don't stay precious forever, Sanabria's story shows, but human lives do. Ages 4-8. (May)
Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.School Library Journal
K-Gr 3--Three brief sections tell of the parallel flourishing, decline, and later revitalization of a family and a ship in this Swiss import by an Argentinian author/illustrator. After glamorous beginnings, the ship is abandoned at a port, and "luxury and excess [make] the family poor." Ultimately, the ship becomes the floating home of displaced peoples, including the family, and the vessel and family are restored to dignity and purpose. One or two sentences per spread tell the story in spare but rather stilted prose that may befuddle young readers. The tale offers neither a compelling story nor insight into poverty and inequality. Gloomy paintings of gray skies and people with bulging eyes and static postures convey a mood of ruin and despair throughout.
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
