Thursday, July 25, 2019

Driftwood Days




Driftwood Days opens with a boy watching beavers build their dam. A branch breaks free from the dam and the story follows its journey. Charles Vess's beautiful colored pencil and ink illustrations show the branch floating downriver in autumn, then frozen in the winter snow. When the river thaws in spring, the branch drifts out to the ocean. Along the way it becomes a perch for turtles and “an oasis for seabirds.” 

On a summer day, the boy finds the branch, now driftwood, on the beach. For the boy, it’s a pen for drawing in the sand, and a pirate’s sword. And finally the driftwood is a souvenir when the boy brings it home to where the story started. 

William Miniver includes an author’s note about the importance of driftwood for the "health and richness of our waterways and oceans.” 

Vess’s artwork reminds me of both Art Nouveau and Japanese woodblock styles, and is perfect for a story about nature's elegant symbiotic relationships.

You can see more work by Charles Vess here: https://greenmanpress.com


Hardcover, 48 pages
Expected publication: October 22nd 2019 
by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
ISBN0802853706 (ISBN13: 9780802853707)