Peppered with sensory images—“wind that whistled and wailed,” “crusty crabs,” and “sparkly, spiky starfish”—the alliterative text invites reading aloud. With its perky palette of aqua and orange, the simple, playful illustrations show Izzy as an exuberant white girl with freckles and unruly red curls who gradually adapts her free-spirited island life with Frank to an urban venue with new, diverse friends. Beautifully pitched tale for kids leaving behind familiar places and moving to new ones.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Lehman’s sweet story is beautifully composed and full of satisfying alliteration (“wild-wind-blowy days” and “sparkly, spiky starfish”), and Beer’s illustrations are just as lovely. Set to a striking palette of turquoise and orange, the wonderfully detailed artwork invites readers into both the spacious seaside and the landlocked cityscape. Izzy’s journey will particularly resonate with young readers who have faced a change of address, helping them remember that home (and fun) can be found anywhere, with anyone.” —Booklist
“An entertaining collaboration between author Katrina Lehman and illustrator Sophie Beer, Izzy and Frank is an original, utterly charming, and unreservedly recommended addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library picture book collections for children.” —Children's Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review
“This is a story about a special friendship, but also about starting over and learning to make a new life for yourself… [A] wonderful tool to use with children who might be starting a new adventure—not just moving, but maybe starting a new school or meeting a new group of friends. It is a great way to show how you can still hold something dear to your heart while also learning to embrace and enjoy something new.” —Youth Services Book Review
“This is a lovely story about a unique friendship between a little girl and her seagull [that] also touches on the trauma of moving house and starting a new school.” FOUR STARS —Good Reading
2020-03-25
Moving away from the island where she’s always lived, a little girl misses everything, especially her best friend.
Izzy loves living on an island in a lighthouse with a “staircase that twirled high into the sky.” Most of all, she loves her sea gull pal, Frank. On “gray-storm-rainy days,” they dig for buried treasure, play hide-and-seek, and draw in the sand. On “blue-sky-sunny days,” they swim with seals and hunt crabs or starfish. “Wild-wind-blowy days” they evade sea monsters and fight pirates. Then Izzy moves to the city, to a small house with “sharp corners” and no sea view. Izzy hates the city. The games other children play seem alien, and she must wear shoes and be quiet. She misses the wind, salt, sand, the lighthouse, the island, and, most of all, Frank. Izzy searches the streets and sky for Frank, and, one morning, he alights on her windowsill, ready to help her reinvent her life. Peppered with sensory images—“wind that whistled and wailed,” “crusty crabs,” and “sparkly, spiky starfish”—the alliterative text invites reading aloud. With its perky palette of aqua and orange, the simple, playful illustrations show Izzy as an exuberant white girl with freckles and unruly red curls who gradually adapts her free-spirited island life with Frank to an urban venue with new, diverse friends.
Beautifully pitched tale for kids leaving behind familiar places and moving to new ones. (Picture book. 3-7)
