Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Journey of the Sea Glass
Wordless Picture Book
For ages 5 and up
Down East Books, 2012 ISBN: 978-1608931774
Let us travel back in time and join a boy and his father who are standing on the deck of a big ocean liner. They are standing at the railing, and the boy is waving goodbye. The his father sees a waiter and he orders some lemon-lime drinks. The drinks arrive, and the father and son sip from the green bottles. Then, by accident, one of the bottles falls overboard and into the water. The waves carry the bottle to the shore where it smashes on some rocks. Curious seagulls come over to investigate, drawn perhaps by the color and shine of the glass. One of the birds picks up the broken base of the bottle and carries it off across the water.
At some point, the bird drops the piece of glass into the water where it sinks slowly to the bottom. Here it lies until a curious octopus finds it. Once again the piece of glass is transported for a while until another curious creature, a sea otter, sees the glass and carries it to the surface. The otter uses the piece of glass to crack open shellfish for a while, and then it drops its tool, which is washed onto a beach to begin another journey.
In this gorgeous wordless picture book, the author takes readers on an imaginary journey that takes decades to complete. During the journey, the piece of glass encounters a wide variety of animals. Readers may notice that one kind of creature keeps turning up in the artwork. It is almost as if the piece of glass has a companion who is always there.
