The Traveler's Gift: A Story of Loss and Hope

by Danielle Davison, Anne Lambelet (Illustrator)

Overview

Liam loved his father’s stories of life at sea. But one day, his father’s ship doesn’t return, and Liam’s love of stories fades. Then the Traveler, a mysterious old man who spins stories with a magical beard like a tapestry, arrives, reminding Liam of his father. They embark on the Traveler’s final voyage together, and before the journey ends, the Traveler passes on his magical gift to Liam.

Woven with themes of loss, discovery, and friendship, this poignant tale captures the unexpected magic of shared stories and refound hope.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781624147654
Publisher:	Page Street Publishing
Publication date:	10/08/2019
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Danielle Davison was reading before she was in kindergarten and has carried that love of stories into adulthood. A former librarian, she has degrees in psychology and social science. She lives in Le Sueur, Minnesota, with her family, and this is her debut picture book.

Anne Lambelet is a voracious consumer and creator of books. She holds a degree in illustration from the University of the Arts and is the author-illustrator of Maria the Matador and Dogs and Their People (Page Street Kids). She lives with her husband in Philadelphia.

Editorial Reviews

09/23/2019

Liam’s father, a sailor, is a gifted spinner of tales, and a trailing plume of smoke laced with pirates and mermaids illustrates his transfixing stories. After his father doesn’t return from a voyage, though, Liam grieves, and otherwise colorful spreads show him in black-and-white. Then, another champion storyteller, Enzo, arrives in Liam’s port town. When he spins tales, “his beard grew. And grew. And grew, until each story he told wove from his face like a tapestry.” Enzo asks Liam to join him on his final ocean voyage, and Liam comes alive again as the two sail the world. In the end, Liam receives a final gift from Enzo, and he realizes that he has one of his own to share. Debut author Davison writes gracefully, but though she extols the power of a good yarn, her own tale is more of a wistful journey through grief than the kind of enthralling adventure that her characters prize. With the exception of one spread, which relies on generic, stereotypical imagery of indigenous people, the fine-grained, full-color artwork by Lambelet (Maria the Matador) swirls with fantastical imagery that reinforces the transporting power of stories. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Lambelet's luscious, cinematic artwork will transport readers." – Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"[F]antastical imagery that reinforces the transporting power of stories." – Publishers Weekly

"Dreamy and delightful from start to finish." – Booklist

"The themes of grief and recovery through the power of words are potent ones... [The Traveler's Gift] could certainly be used to initiate conversations about storytelling and about loss." – BCCB

From the Publisher

★ 2019-07-24
A boy finds joy, loss, healing, and love in the power of storytelling.

In cap and suspenders, Liam waves from a dock as his father sets sail across the opening endpages. Reunited, the two embrace before the burly sailor spins tales of his adventures in front of a crackling fire, as mermaids, treasures, and shark-infested waters swirl to life. But when his father sets out again and doesn't return, Liam's world turns gray and stories lose their pull, until an old traveler arrives with a magic beard who is able to weave words into pictures. Together, the two journey across the world, and Liam learns to really look and listen, and when the time comes for him to tell a story, he finds his father in stories told, in adventures taken, and in the weaving of words and sharing of stories. Fanciful illustrations are meticulously drawn, and the artist uses geometric shapes stylized to appear sculpted, reminiscent of a stop-motion animated picture. The cool, bright color palette is used to great effect as all turns gray to depict grief and loss, with color returning in the traveler's stories and in their journey together. Skilled compositional designs showcase the flowing nature of the tales at sea and the traveler's beard's ability to hold the memory of adventure and become a metaphor for journey and growth. Liam and his father present white; the traveler has brown skin; Liam's 19th-century seaside town is largely white but has a few residents of color.

Lambelet's luscious, cinematic artwork will transport readers. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews