Swashby and the Sea
by Beth Ferry (Author) Juana Martinez-Neal (Illustrator)
From New York Times best-selling author Beth Ferry and Caldecott Honor winner Juana Martinez-Neal comes a sweet-and-salty friendship story perfect for pirate-lovers learning new ways to communicate while at a distance.
This hilarious picture book will keep emerging readers laughing, and the message-related mishaps in the story create an opportunity for spelling and sounding out new words while learning from home!
Captain Swashby loves the sea, his oldest friend. And he loves his life by the sea just as it is: salty and sandy and serene.
One day, much to Swashby's chagrin, a young girl and her granny commandeer the empty house next door. All Swashby wants is for his new neighbors to GO AWAY and take their ruckus with them.
When Swashby begins to leave notes in the sand for his noisy neighbors, however, the beach interferes with the messages that are getting across. Could it be that the captain's oldest friend, the sea, knows what Swashby needs even better than he knows himself?
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Kirkus Reviews
The cantankerous old coot is depicted as a white man with an enormous gray beard while the girl and her granny are depicted with brown skin, exuberant Afros, and enormous spectacles. This sweet story of friendship is sure to win over even the grumpiest of listeners.
Booklist
Publishers Weekly
Swashby, a bushy-bearded, red-nosed old salt, is ready to spend a reclusive retirement ("Salty/ and sandy/ and serene") by his longtime friend, the sea. "She knew him in and out,/ up and down,/ and better than anyone," writes Ferry (Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish). When a girl and her grandmother move in next door ("nosy,/ a nuisance,/ annoying"), he starts leaving stern warning messages in the sand. "NO TRESPASSING," reads the first, "which the sea fiddled with, just a little bit," turning it into "SING," which the girl does with gusto. When the sea turns "PLEASE GO AWAY" into "PL--AY," the child almost coaxes Swashby into being her playmate. But it takes the sea turning dangerous to fully open Swashby's heart; he rescues the girl and embraces neighborliness, realizing that it can mean "fun,/ and friends,/ and... family." Caldecott Honoree Martinez-Neal's acrylic, colored pencil, and graphite drawings teeter between scenes curmudgeonly and sweet, underscoring the story's tensions. A strong sense of place emerges from the palette, redolent of sunlit sand and sea glass, and the interplay between Swashby and his meddling sea has its magic. Ages 4-7. Author's agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties. Illustrator's agent: Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (May)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Juana Martinez-Neal was born in Lima, Peru, and began illustrating when she was a teenager. Her debut picture book as an author-illustrator, Alma, was awarded a Caldecott honor.
Visit her at www.juanamartinezneal.com, on Instagram @juanamartinezn and on Twitter @juanamartinez
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
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