Ahoy!

A child helps an adult sail away in this high-seas adventure from two-time Caldecott Medalist Blackall. On one side of a room, an adult in a yellow beanie vacuums a round blue rug; on the other, a child in a striped jersey and black cap is busy with a project. Hand-lettered text balloons animate the pale-skinned characters’ exchange. Asked what they’re playing, the child replies, “I’M NOT PLAYING!” Asked why they’re shouting, they respond, “BECAUSE THERE’S A STORM COMING!... I’M FITTING OUT OUR SHIP AND PREPARING TO SAIL!” The adult’s protests around engaging (“I can’t right now, Peanut...”) are urgently dismissed, and the caretaker is lured in with a promise that they’ll be allowed to help draw the map. After that, wrinkles in the rug become realistic waves, and chairs draped with toilet paper turn into a full-size ship sailing a whale-populated sea. When a phone call interrupts (“WE ARE IN THE DOLDRUMS,” the child hollers, face down), the grown- up finds a sparkling way to get things going again. Visual inventiveness pays homage to shared adventures in this work that toggles dynamically between two competing universes—and in which the child’s reality, and fitting vocabulary, take command (“HOLD FAST TO THE MIZZENMAST!”). Includes a glossary of nautical jargon. Ages 4–8. Agent: Nancy Gallt, Gallt & Zacker Literary (Apr.)