Ocean Meets Sky

Starred review from February 26, 2018
Young Finn’s grandfather, when he was alive, had a white pointed beard that made him look like a sage. He told Finn stories about “a place far away where ocean meets sky.” Now, to celebrate the day his grandfather would have been 90, Finn creates a boat out of wood scraps, then drifts off to sleep inside it. In a dream, a great, mustachioed golden carp appears to help Finn find the place his grandfather described: “It’s up and down and very far.” Finn sails through nautical fancies that attentive readers will recognize as curiosities from his grandfather’s study, at last reaching a starry, light-filled paradise where schooners, hot-air balloons, dirigibles, a blue whale, and even the Titanic all sail serenely for eternity—and the full moon contains the smiling face of his grandfather. Meticulous draftsmanship by the Fan brothers (The Night Gardener) gives the spreads genuine majesty; Finn’s tiny craft is barely visible among the great vessels. The artists imagine not a general, one-size-fits-all afterlife, but one that Finn and his grandfather share—and one that readers will feel privileged to share with them. Ages 4–8. Agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Agency.