Meet Me By the Sea

I had just a single plan this weekend: read and review as many books as possible from my huge pile of NetGalleys accumulated through my last 5 years of membership to this fantastic network aimed at offering ARCs to passionate reader - like me, and you, my dear reader. My aim was mostly reached, with loads and loads of beautiful children books that I´ve read on repeat to my son, who is also surprised by the sudden generosity of my time. True, I am spending a lot of time at home those days, homeoffice-ing, but this means that I work and work and work more than before when I only had eight hours to finish my tasks. 

Oh, all the books I´ve read this morning! About polar bears leaving their homes, or who doesn´t want to sleep as required during the winter season, or about dinosaurs refusing to abide to the rules (it seems that not only the dinosaurs are having such problems, after all), about a father and a son baking a huge cake and inviting people to share it (well, the book was obviously written before our children learned that they cannot have a party due to the pandemic and anyway they need to keep their distance otherwise they will have to stay in the quarantine or even enter the lockdown; so many complicated words and contextes our children are learning so so fast those days...). Or the book about Mila who is missing his mommy in the first week at school and learns how to share her sad feelings because it´s better than keeping everything running poisonously from within. So many great ideas and book that can, after all, compensate the missing milestones skipped by many of our children forced to stay at home those days.

I must confessed that my love for children books is much much older than the five years old of my son who is a voracious listener to his good morning or midday or evening stories, that I keep reading him in 3 languages (now he´s is love with Spanish for ´very pure heart´ reasons and insists to learn some new words in this language too and I am pleased to obliged once in a while too). Every time I am starting a new language - yes, it´s present continous as every time I do have some time I love to improve or learn new words and languages - children books are my main source of inspiration. After all, when you are able to talk with a child, you can consider that you achieved an acceptable level of language learning as children need clarity in communication as well. When you´re babbling, they will let you know in the cruelest way. 

But I also love reading children books as a genre in itself. Enjoying them for the simple and genuine way they convene a message and tell a story. I translated some books too, and hope to publish my own children book soon, once I am brave enough to overcome the drawing block. After so many years of practice, my drawing skills still stings and maybe I should one day accept that that´s it and find someone to do it for me...Food for thought for the next months.

When I consider reading children books for myself, there are two main things I always look for: 1. the quality of the writing and the choice of the topic 2. the quality of the illustration (which should be very beautiful, thus the high standards I am expecting to set for myself). Those two elements are not always meeting, with most cases neglecting to match perfectly - or smoothly - the visual part with the choice of words. 

But once in a while, I am just falling in love with a book, and its illustrations...

Like when I´ve got to know Meet me by the Sea, by the very talented Taltal Levi. 

Annoyed by his parents unavailability, a girl decided to go all by herself, out in the woods and far away by the sea, where she can breath deeply the quietness. On her way, she is joined by a fox that nested on her sleeping bag she skillfully set up during a night she spent in the woods. Later on, she is joined by her parents that finally may realize that the wild things are always out of the (home) office.

The story flows slowly, as a river, as a step-by-step journey the girl takes. Indeed, the woods can be a frightening new place, but her inner peace and love for nature are the shield protecting her against any eventual accident. She is not afraid, rather happy and curious surrounded by so many beautiful things a and creatures. 

The author creates the tension perfectly through the pastel-lit images and words. The story is easy in itself, but ´simplicity is the ultimate sophistication´, isn´t it?

From the top of the forest trees, everything looks so small, we, as humans included, with all our hard game of emotions and complicated working hours. By the sea, everything looks much better and clearer. It´s where she, in the end, will meet her busy parents too.

I just wanted to share my love for such beautiful stories wrapped in dreamlike pencil touches. 

Rating: 5 stars

Disclaimer: This book, as well as all the other children books mentioned in this post were offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review