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Buckley and his Mama live in a cozy cabin by the ocean. He loves to carve boats out of the driftwood he finds on the beach nearby. He makes:
big boats
long boats
short boats and
tall boats, each one more beautiful than the last, and sends them out to sea. If they don't come back, he knows they've found their way to his papa, whom he misses very much.
In this stunning debut, author/illustrator Jessixa Bagley explores the subtle and deep emotions associated with loss in a heartwarming tale that is sure to stay with the reader long after the book is closed.
A Neal Porter Book
Heartbreaking and hopeful, innocent and wise, a gentle story about healing and finding connection-both in the past and present.
Buckley, a beaver, lives with his mother at the shore. Papa isn't with them; what happened to him isn't revealed, but it's clear that mother and son are coping with a big loss. Buckley spends his days creating increasingly more elaborate boats for his father from driftwood he finds on the beach, lovingly launching each one with a note, "For Papa. Love, Buckley." "If it doesn't come back to shore," Buckley tells his mother, "I'll know he got it!" One day, Buckley discovers that all the boats have come back--and he learns something important about his mother's love as well. Bagley makes an impressive debut with this somber but never maudlin story about sadness, resilience, and an emotional coming of age. The pen-and-watercolor renderings of her two characters can feel slightly blocky and awkward, but it's a deeply empathic story with an accomplished sense of place. In beautiful tones of blue and brown, she immerses readers in the coastal world where Buckley and his mother are trying to make sense of their lives. Ages 3-7. Agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. (June)
Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Jessixa Bagley is children’s book author-illustrator with a background in fine art and comics. She has had work featured in publications such as New American Paintings, The Chicago Reader, Nickelodeon Magazine, and Highlights Magazine. Her first picture book, Boats for Papa, received numerous awards and accolades including the 2016 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for picture book text and a 2016 Washington State Book Award. Her picture book Laundry Day received a 2018 Ezra Jack Keats Honor Award for writing. Many of her picture books are also Junior Library Guild Selections. In her work, she’s drawn to animals and emotional themes often inspired by her own experiences. Jessixa also teaches and speaks about writing and illustration. She often illustrates for other writers and artistically collaborates with her husband, Aaron Bagley. Jessixa lives in Seattle with her husband and son.
Aaron Bagley is an illustrator and sometimes author from Seattle, WA. His work has been featured in Illustoria Magazine, The Virginia Quarterly Review, Seattle’s The Stranger, The Seattle Weekly (R.I.P.), and so many more, collect them all, yadda yadda yadda. The children’s book Vincent Comes Home was published in 2018 (Roaring Brook Press) which was a collaboration with his wife, Jessixa. He illustrated the graphic novel Duel (written by Jessixa Bagley) published in November 2023.