The Specific Ocean - Hardcover

Maclear, Kyo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1894786351 ISBN 13: 9781894786355

Publisher: Kids Can Press, 2015

Synopsis

In this gently told picture book, a young girl is unhappy about having to leave the city for a family vacation on the Pacific Ocean (which she used to call the Specific Ocean). As the days pass, however, she is drawn to spend more time in and near the water, feeling moved by its beauty and rhythms. ?The ocean does its own thing, rolling backward and forward. Wash, swash, splush, hush. There is no late or hurry or racing in ocean time.? By the end of the vacation, the girl has grown to love the ocean and now feels reluctant to leave it behind. But as she soon realizes, it doesn't ever have to leave her. ?Calm. Blue. Ruffled. Gray. Playful. Green. Mysterious. Black. Foggy. Silver. Roaring. White. No matter where I am, this specific ocean will be with me.?

Author Kyo Maclear has written a sweet and evocative love story about the magic and wonder of the ocean. Katty Maurey's softly drawn illustrations maintain the poetic feel of the text, while bringing to life the imagery of the seaside, adding a wonderful richness to the pages. This book would make a lyrical read-aloud that could lull young children into an appreciation for the peaceful joy found in nature. It also presents a compelling emotional component to why conserving our natural spaces is important, and would work well for any classroom science discussion on the environment or on the ocean as a habitat and ecosystem.

About this title

About the Author

Kyo Maclear is an award-winning writer and novelist. Her first book for children, Spork, has received a number of honors, including a 2011 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award nomination. She lives in Toronto, Ontario.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 3—A young girl doesn't want to leave her friends in the city for a summer vacation with her family at the ocean. But she goes, and after a few days of moping, she discovers the wonders of the sea and then only reluctantly departs at vacation's end. Together, she and her brother swim and watch the waves as they "shine, shimmer, gleam, glow. The ocean is so big that it makes every thought and worry I have shrink and scatter." The unnamed girl narrates her experience and changing moods in lyrical, sophisticated language. Initially she misunderstood the name to be the Specific rather than Pacific Ocean. But she realizes that the experience of being at the sea has changed her, and she's confident that she will carry this specific ocean with her: "Calm. Blue. Ruffled. Gray. Playful. Green. Mysterious," not unlike her feelings. Mixed-media illustrations use soft lines and a muted palette for an almost ethereal effect, successfully evoking the ocean and its wonders. VERDICT Though not for everyone, this is a handsome, evocative look at one child's formative experience.—Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at District of Columbia Public Library

About this edition

• Publisher: Kids Can Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1894786351
• ISBN 13: 9781894786355
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Maurey Katty