Ocean's Child - Hardcover

Ford, Christine; Holland, Trish

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375847529 ISBN 13: 9780375847523

Publisher: Golden Books, 2009

Synopsis

A stunning new picture book, illustrated by a Caldecott medalist!

As a mother and child canoe along the Alaskan Beaufort seacoast, they observe a baby walrus held close to its mother’s spotted chest, sea lions snuggling, and the Northern Lights shimmering above. David Diaz’s powerful, lush illustrations bring to life the majesty of the ocean and skies—and the vulnerability of the ocean’s biggest and smallest inhabitants, from the orca to the puffin. The book ends with the human mother and her sleeping child gliding home for the night. “Good night, Mother Ocean, good night.”

About this title

About the Author:

Christine Ford and Trish Holland both live in Texas. They collaborated on the successful Golden Book The Soldiers’ Night Before Christmas. Christine Ford is also the author of the middle-grade novel Scout and Trish Holland is the author of two Little Golden Books: Lasso the Moon and Come Back, Zack!

David Diaz received the Caldecott Medal for Smoky Night by Eve Bunting at the very beginning of his career illustrating children’s books. He lives in San Diego, California.

From School Library Journal:

PreS–When Sun slips over the edge of the world/And Moon sails up to the stars, an obviously pregnant Eskimo mother and her young child paddle along the seacoast and observe different ocean creatures. Each spread features a large illustration of a particular mother/baby animal pair (or group)–otters, walruses, dolphins, polar bears, etc.–settling down to sleep, with a smaller illustration of the duo looking on from their boat. Brief, descriptive sentences end with the refrain: To Ocean's child we say good night./Good night, little orca {puffin, etc.}, good night. The artwork is done in the same finely crafted, softly colored graphic style that Diaz used in The Pot That Juan Built (Lee & Low, 2002) and César: Si, Se Puede!/Yes, We Can! (Marshall Cavendish, 2004). He has projected swirly reflectionlike patterns in the water that seem to bounce off clothing, boat, and sea animals, along with representations of plant life and bubbles. Unfortunately, the rhythmic cadence of the unrhymed text and repetitive refrain is not maintained throughout. Also, references to both the woman's unborn child (...asleep/In a sea of her own quiet dreams) and to the child with her as Ocean's child seem a bit abstract, given the authors' and illustrator's careful choice of animals appropriate to the setting and accurate depictions of their sleep habits.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
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About this edition

• Publisher: Golden Books
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0375847529
• ISBN 13: 9780375847523
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Diaz David