Bye Land, Bye Sea
by René Spencer and Rodolfo Montalvo; illus. by Rodolfo Montalvo
Primary    Roaring Brook    40 pp.
4/24    9781250246721    $19.99
e-book ed.  9781250377869    $11.99

Two children embark on a journey together when a girl lands her boat on an island where a boy is stranded. After their initial shock, they start to communicate, the boy in Spanish and the girl in English. They attempt to leave the island by boat, but their plan is foiled by a storm that leaves the girl stranded on the island and the boy lost at sea. She sounds a conch shell as her new friend taught her, which leads the boy back to the island. Spencer and Montalvo’s story explores concepts of forming friendships, building connections, and overcoming the fear of differences. The simple, meaningful text alternates between Spanish and English, exposing readers to both languages, without translations. The die-cut cover features a symbolic overlay of the boy looking through binoculars from the island, while the girl is visible—within his lenses—looking at the island from her boat through her looking glass. Montalvo’s crisp illustrations evoke the sights, scents, and sounds of a tropical island setting. The binoculars and looking glass are cleverly used throughout to indicate the pair’s progression to friendship, and, after a warm culminating gatefold image, to indicate a hopeful ending.

From the July/August 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.