Teacup
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A stunning picture book that addresses life’s big journeys with hope, beauty, and reassurance
School Library Journal [STARRED REVIEW!]
“[A] moving, allegorical tale… inspiring reflection and empathy”
Kirkus Reviews [STARRED REVIEW!]
“A potent discussion starter… Enchanting, beautiful, and full of hope. “
Booklist [STARRED REVIEW!]
“A lyrical tale of leaving home and finding a new one…Thought-provoking and arrestingly beautiful.”
A boy must leave his home and find another. He brings with him a teacup full of earth from the place where he grew up, and sets off to sea. Some days, the journey is peaceful, and the skies are cloudless and bright. Some days, storms threaten to overturn his boat. And some days, the smallest amount of hope grows into something glorious. At last, the boy finds land, but it doesn't feel complete . . . until another traveler joins him, bearing the seed to build a new home.
With lyrical text and gorgeous artwork, this poignant picture book is perfect for discussing all of life’s toughest challenges—a big move, a divorce, long-distance separation, or even the current refugee crisis—in a way that’s reassuring and inspiring for children and adults alike.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Ottley's (Parachute) ravishing paintings of ocean and sky distinguish this story, Australian writer Young's first for the U.S. market. Young opens with a jolt "Once there was a boy who had to leave his home... and find another but Ottley's first spread softens the blow. The boy stands on a wave-washed beach beside a wooden boat, apprehensive, yet ready for adventure. His few possessions include a teacup, which holds "some earth from where he used to play," and his journey alternates between terror and serenity. One spread shows his boat riding up the face of a massive wave ("the boy held tightly to his teacup"), while in another, three dolphins cavort around the boat in tranquil seas. As the boy grows lonelier ("The way the whales called out to one another reminded him of how his mother used to call him in for tea"), a seed hidden in the soil in his teacup begins to grow, ready to bear fruit when he finally makes landfall; a companion appears not long after. Ottley's paintings offer readers a thrilling share in the boy's adventure. Ages 4 8.
