Ahoy!

by Sophie Blackall (Author)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

Join a child captain and parent first mate as they embark on a wild high seas adventure...all without leaving the living room! This imaginative romp of a picture book is filled with glorious illustrations from a beloved Caldecott Medalist and New York Times bestselling creator.

Raise the mainsail!

Batten the hatches!

It's time to set sail...on the couch!

There's a storm coming, and a child is ready to captain the ship. "Make haste and climb aboard," they call out to their parent, "before you're swept out to sea!"

Sea? What sea? The parent is only trying to vacuum the rug. But the child is adamant. It's not a rug--it's the ocean. And that broom? It's the ship's mast. Soon enough, child and parent are both off on an imaginary nautical adventure!

Here is a thoroughly engaging, hilarious picture book that celebrates the joys of playing make-believe--and hanging out with a parent!

Select format:
Hardcover
$19.99

Kirkus

Starred Review

This be good clean fun on the salty seas.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

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.)

Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review

Tiny sea captains everywhere will cherish this lovely tale.

Review quotes

★ Avast, me mateys! This be good clean fun on the salty seas. —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 

★ ....Brilliantly constructed....Blackall excels at setting the stage for the imaginary play. —The Horn Book, starred review

 

Blackall's take on imaginative play is superb, as both the narrative and visuals of this picture book thematically carry readers up and down like a rolling sea. —The Bulletin, starred review

 

★ This delightful tale highlights and celebrates the powerful bonding that happens when caregivers engage in imaginative play with children....Tiny sea captains everywhere will cherish this lovely tale. —Booklist, starred review

Sophie Blackall
Sophie Blackall is the award-winning illustrator of over 50 books for children, including Finding Winnie and Hello, Lighthouse, which both received the Caldecott Medal. She illustrated A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat, written by Emily Jenkins, which received four starred reviews and was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. Her most recent picture book, Farmhouse, was an instant New York Times bestseller, received five starred reviews and was also a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. Sophie's many other honors include a BCCB Blue Ribbon, an Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award, Society of Illustrators Founders Award, and a Charlotte Zolotow Honor. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780593429396
Lexile Measure
410
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Anne Schwartz Books
Publication date
April 02, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Imagination
Adventure and adventurers
Adventure stories
Sailing

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