Review by Booklist Review
Emma's "world was too loud . . . too busy . . . and filled with too much of everything, everywhere, all the time." To escape the noise and chaos, Emma crafts a boat and sails it into the watery, dark, and peaceful belly of a giant imaginary whale. After a boisterous intruder--someone "loud, noisy, and everything [she] was running away from"--disrupts her solitude, he convinces Emma to share the stories she's always reading as well as those from her own life and imagination. This respectful recognition of the power of quietude balances Emma's introverted nature with her willingness to rejoin the fray under calmer circumstances. The transportive power of books plays a central role in Emma's adventures, and the story's supportive friendship theme makes this a doubly good pick for library and classroom sharing. Emma's expressive eyebrows and the fanciful illustrative details, including familiar fantastical storybook characters, carry readers through softly hued pencil, watercolor, gouache, and Photoshop art. An empathetic and affirming journey for imaginative readers working to find their voices in sometimes overwhelming spaces.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
It's not merely a desire for alone time that occasions a child's retreat from everyday life's cacophony in this thought- ful solo debut by Li (You Are Home). In digitally finished pencil, watercolor, and gouache, the young narrator acknowledges experiencing what cues as sensory overload--a world "filled with too much of everything, everywhere, all the time"--created by a raucous birthday party and a street with noisy traffic. The narrator, who sports high pigtails, fantasizes about life within a blue whale, a creature with a heart so large "that my dad could stand inside it." Soon, the child sails in a small boat through a doorway with a drawing of a whale's mouth taped around it: there, "I was embraced by silence." Then a too-friendly chum crashes this quiet refuge. Though conflict is expected, visually rich fantasy sequences show the newcomer respecting the narrator's boundaries, transfixed first by story retellings, then by the protagonist's own tales. In the quiet, the narrator discovers, one can hear one's own voice--and others listen when they speak their truth--following an inspiring, unexpected interior journey. Protagonists read as East Asian. Ages 4--8. Agent: Angharad Kowal Stannus, Kowal Stannus. (Feb.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A child who finds the world too noisy decides to live inside a whale. During what appears to be a sibling's birthday party, an Asian-presenting child with two spiky pigtails hides out in another room reading a book on whales, a "Do not disturb" sign hanging nearby. Inspired, the child fashions a small boat, tapes a drawing of a whale head to the wall, and sails into the whale's gaping mouth. Inside, it's dark and quiet, "just the way I preferred." But a shrieking boy, who also appears to be Asian, rolls in from the party on a skateboard, bringing with him "everything I was running away from." The loud boy and the narrator make a deal: After he's quiet for half the day, the narrator will then acknowledge him. As promised, the narrator entrances the boy with stories of all kinds as the art shifts from more muted blues to bright colors and whirlwinds of fantastic landscapes. In a poignant moment, the narrator reveals the reason for being in the whale: to "hear my own voice." This gives the boy an idea, allowing for a return to the real world with his new friend. Cozy artwork visually depicts both the cacophony of the world and the young narrator's flights of fancy. This is a gentle, relatable story about a child with sensory sensitivity finding a way to forge connections with others. A sweet, contemplative tale of friendship and discovering one's voice. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
