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Published on January 19, 2022
Reviewed by Elizabeth DeVincenzo
This mysterious picture book tells the story of Seb who lives in a nameless, remote coastal town far in the north, most likely near the Arctic Circle, where there is six months of darkness in the winter. Along with his friend, Walrus, Seb likes to collect treasures on the beach. One of his found treasures is a glass bottle. After a day of treasure collecting, Seb heads home and passes various groups of people and friends who live in his village. Once Seb arrives home, he takes out his glass bottle and devises an idea on how to bring the sun to his town. With rope, yarn, fishing line, and a bucket provided by his friends from town, Seb and Walrus set off in a small boat with their supplies and their plan to “catch and trap” golden, warm light in jars and bottles to share with their friends in the village. There is no explanation where the light comes from, readers need to speculate and use their imagination. Gigot’s dark illustrations rendered in pencil and digital paint provide a nice contrast to the glowing light that Seb “catches” in his bottle. This cozy story is a great bedtime read aloud on a cold, winter night. Its optimistic ending will satisfy those who aren’t fans of cold, dark, winter weather and eager for spring to arrive. Pair this with picture book classics The Snowy Day by Jack Ezra Keats and Snow by Uri Shulevitz for a winter unit in preschool and kindergarten classrooms.
Target audience Ages 4-7