Review by Booklist Review
It's common for children to be scared of new adventures and let their fears hold them back. Here Atkinson does a fine job in illustrating and writing about those fears. Jo is afraid of the sea. As tough luck would have it, Jo's father is a message-bottle delivery man, and when he comes down with a cold, it's up to Jo to get into his rickety boat and deliver the necessary bottles: Jo's legs were shaking like jellyfish, and sea butterflies filled her insides from head to toe. However, once she starts sailing and delivering those long-awaited messages to pirates, sea creatures, and more, she learns that adventure does not need to be so scary after all. Readers will love the bright, garishly colorful, chaotic artwork that is Atkinson's trademark. Most important, fans 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.--Jessica Anne Bratt Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Jo's brawny, tattooed father operates the clearinghouse for all the bottles that have messages in them. The bottles float to Jo's ship-shaped shanty, and her dad sails around the world making sure "every bottle got to the right home." When Dad gets a bad cold, Jo has to overcome her deepest fear-she's convinced the ocean is filled with monsters-and take on the delivery duties. Along the way, she discovers that the ocean is actually full of inhabitants (human and otherwise) who just want connection with the outside world; even the seemingly scariest monster in the remotest corner of the ocean is a real sweetheart who's grateful for company. Gap-toothed Jo's determination and doughtiness are certainly appealing, but it's Atkinson's (Where Oliver Fits) settings and secondary characters that are the real standouts. 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. Ages 4-7. Agent: Nicole Tugeau, Tugeau 2. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This affecting tale begins, "Out at sea, there is a place where all the messages in bottles gather." It's Jo's dad's job to gather them and get the messages to their recipients. He always has marvelous adventures and Jo would love to join in, but she's too scared. Her visions of the terrifying creatures that lie in wait below the surface are so over-the-top that she's afraid she'll never return. Jo is forced to face her fears, however, when her dad is too sick to make his deliveries and the bottles are piling up. Of course, every fear the little heroine has turns out to be unfounded, and she even gets to help the creatures she thought so forbidding. 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. -VERDICT An engaging read-aloud and a worthy addition to storytime collections.-Henrietta Verma, Credo Reference, Jackson Heights, NY © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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 beastthat 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) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
