The Antlered Ship
by Dashka Slater
illustrated by The Fan Brothers
Beach Lane Books, 2017. 44 pages.
Starred Review
Here’s a picture book adventure story featuring animals. I expected trite, corny, or hokey. What I found was charming and marvelous.
The book begins by introducing us to a fox who asks philosophical questions:
The day the antlered ship arrived, Marco wondered about the wide world.
He had so many questions.
Why do some songs make you happy and others make you sad?
Why don’t trees ever talk?
How deep does the sun go when it sinks into the sea?But when he posed these questions to the other foxes, they grew silent.
“What does that have to do with chicken stew?” they asked.
Marco goes to the harbor to see the ship and learns that the crew of deer onboard are lost. They hope to hire better sailors. Marco signs on, in hopes of finding other foxes who know the answers to his questions. A flock of pigeons, led by Victor, signs on, hoping to have adventures. The original deer crew, led by the captain Sylvia, are looking for an island with tall, sweet grass and short, sweet trees.
But first, they find adventures. The crew gets discouraged by the difficulties they face. This is my favorite page:
“We should have stayed in the woods,” Sylvia said. “Deer aren’t supposed to go to sea.”
“We should have stayed in the park,” added Victor. “Pigeons aren’t supposed to do hard labor.”
Marco eyed the deer and the pigeons. “Foxes aren’t supposed to be vegetarian,” he said. “Still, we must do the best we can.”
No, Marco doesn’t eat the crew. He makes a warm and reviving stew of vegetables and revives his friends to continue their quest.
Marco continues to pour forth philosophical questions throughout the book. Things like: “Do islands like being alone? Do waves look more like horses or swans?” But the question for which he finds the best answers is “What’s the best way to find a friend you can talk to?”
And though the others’ initial quests are satisfied, the friends decide that they want to travel on….
The beautiful illustrations by Terry Fan and Eric Fan add just the right touch to give the animals’ efforts seriousness. At the same time, their naïve ideas are child-sized. Children will delight to share the adventure.
dashkaslater.com
thefanbrothers.com
simonandschuster.com/kids
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Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.
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