In a Village by the Sea

The illustrations, with strong references to Chinese pen-and-ink landscapes and Japanese woodblock prints of the sea, will draw readers to this book again and again.

Copyright 2015 Kirkus Reviews, LLC Used with permission

Artist Chu (Summoning the Phoenix) and first-time author Van transport readers to a small seaside village. Opening with a scene of fishermen at work beside cliffs where a house is nestled ("In a fishing village by the sea/ there is a small house"), Van's circular, incantatory writing closes in on the house ("In that house, / high above the waves, / is a kitchen"), where a woman cooks, a dog explores, and a baby rests. Skillfully using a variety of visual perspectives, Chu's delicately detailed and colored illustrations invite close study; the fishermen's nets have a gauzy translucence, and papery garlic bulbs, veiny basil leaves, and softly glowing lanterns are all drawn with naturalistic care. As Van directs readers down a hole in the corner of the room, the story shifts into fantasy--beneath the floorboards, a cricket paints a majestic picture of a stormy sea, in which a fisherman (previously seen in the opening pages) longs to return to the woman and child in the hillside home. A lovely, resonant portrait of family life that hums with quiet magic. Ages 4-10. (June)

PreS-Gr 2--This is a magical story set in Vietnam, with moody and emotive illustrations. With a classical storytelling structure and lyrical text, the narrative describes a fisherman at sea thinking of his home, as the images draw viewers in closer and closer, first to the house, then to the kitchen, and onward until finally they focus on a tiny brown cricket in a tiny hole painting a tiny picture of the very same fisherman at sea dreaming of home while waiting out a scary storm. The illustrations are lovely, with an amazing use of perspective, changing the viewpoint on every page and conveying the simple tale of a fisherman longing for the warm home, wife, baby, and dog that are waiting for him. The text pairs beautifully with the detail of the images, which offer plenty to pore over. VERDICT A delightful and quiet read that effectively evokes the book's setting.--Sharon McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA