Johnny, the Sea, and Me
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- $169.00
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- $169.00
Descripción editorial
A 2025 Batchelder Honor Book! ★ A heartwarming middle-grade novel from Colombia about a ten-year-old boy and the larger-than-life figure who changes him forever.
Pedro is dealing with a lot for a ten-year-old kid, both at school and at home. So he's overjoyed when his mom surprises him with a trip to see the ocean—an experience he's been dreaming about for a long time!
Maybe this trip will make everything better. Maybe it will make his dad come back to him and his mom. Maybe he will stop being bullied at school, once he's seen the ocean! But things go wrong right from the start between Pedro and his mom, and all seems lost, until Pedro is found and taken in by a gruff old sea dog who has something magical about him.
Tender, funny, and stamped with psychological truth, Johnny, the Sea, and Me offers the thrills of pirate adventures and the rich cultural history of the Caribbean, along with strong characters and a satisfying and moving portrait of an unusual friendship. Adeptly translated by Sara Lissa Paulson and beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth Builes, this book is sure to resonate with readers young and old.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ten-year-old Pedro is small for his age and constantly gets his hair mussed by classmates "as if he's a little chihuahua"; one disdainful pupil, Ulloa, even bullies him outright. Evading Pedro's questions about the whereabouts of his father, his mother proffers a trip to a Caribbean island, where Pedro dreams of encountering pirates and exotic sea creatures. Shortly after they arrive, however, a moment of emotional upset sends Pedro running down the beach, and soon he's lost. An unexpected encounter with gruff Johnny Tay, a solitary beach hermit, nets Pedro experiences with a loquacious parrot, a breadfruit tree, a feast made on a one-burner gas stove, and, beneath Johnny's brusqueness, true compassion: "There is even good in bad people, and bad in good people," he tells Pedro. Translator Paulson (Book of Questions) gracefully incorporates hints of magical realism from Colombian writer Escobar (House of Beauty, for adults)—Pedro grows when he's happy and shrinks when he's despondent (leaving him, at low moments, swimming in his clothes). Escobar's compatriot Builes (The Amazing Students of Venezuela) contributes delicately lined artwork to this tale, which ruminates on the healing presence of a figure who lives life on his own terms. Ages 8–12.
