Off & Away

by Cale Atkinson, Cale Atkinson (Illustrator)

Overview

How would you get mail if you lived in the middle of the sea? It's Jo's dad's job to deliver it, taking bottles wherever they need to go. He always comes home with exciting stories to tell—but Jo is far too afraid to go out on the ocean herself. Until Dad gets a bad sea cold, that is. With no one but Jo to deliver the bottles, she must find her courage and set sail alone. As she embarks on her mission, her fears just might be replaced with new friendships . . . and grand stories of her own.


With beautiful, atmospheric art and endearing new characters by author-illustrator Cale Atkinson, this picturebook is a treasure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484782323
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/05/2018
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Cale Atkinson is an author, illustrator, and animator whose picturebooks include To the Sea and Explorers of the Wild. He lives and works in Canada. Visit Cale online at www.cale.ca or on Twitter @2dCale.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Off & Away:
Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Reading List
Ontario Library Association's Best Bets Top Ten List
WSRA Recommendation List

PRAISE FOR EXPLORERS OF THE WILD

"It will be the very stubborn couch potato who doesn't set out, walking stick and bag of essentials in hand, to explore after reading this."

"[F]ans will have fun with exploring the pages, whether it is counting fishes, identifying sea life, or wondering what messages are in those bottles. A sweet tale filled with a spunky heroine and seafaring adventure."—Booklist

"Facing your fears is rarely done with such beguiling whimsy."—Kirkus Reviews

"The expansive skies shimmer in unearthly tones of red and green, and elaborately rendered creatures sprawl from margin to margin, demonstrating imaginative worldbuilding in full sail."—Publishers Weekly

"Children whose fears are starting to get the better of them can benefit from Jo’s journey; but the tale, which is gorgeously illustrated in bright hues that bring the ocean and its not-so-scary creatures to life, will also appeal to young readers."—SLJ

PRAISE FOR EXPLORERS OF THE WILD

"This adorable tale of friendship and exploration is a great buy for every collection."

From the Publisher

2018-04-16
Jo must find the courage to set sail on the perilous sea when her father takes ill.Jo's dad is in charge of all the bottles containing messages thrown into the ocean; it's his job to get each one "to the right home." Jo longs to be an adventurer like her dad, but she is terrified of all the horrible creatures she imagines lurk in the ocean depths. When Jo's dad gets sick and bottles start piling up, Jo is tasked with stepping in to deliver them in his place. Bravely she sets out, knees a-quaking, against a background filled with the repeated affirmation that "I can do this." First Jo encounters a creature with "tentacles full of sticky suckers" (a large, green-eyed monster looms terrifyingly on the page and in her imagination)—that turns out to be a polite, bespectacled squid named Ira. She then sails into the maw of a scary beast—that turns out to be the cove of an island of friendly penguins. Time and again, Jo learns that no matter how scary a situation or how terrifying something may seem, it is probably not as bad as she imagines. The intricately painted, cinematic images are vividly bright, bringing in all the colors of the ocean. Gap-toothed Jo and her dad share the same brown skin and straight, black hair.Facing your fears is rarely done with such beguiling whimsy. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews