Under the Blanket Sky
-
- $4.99
-
- $4.99
Publisher Description
An extraordinary debut picture book about a boy and his unusual friend—a majestic owl—and a long yet fleeting summer that changes them forever.
In the spirit of The Velveteen Rabbit and Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” here is a heartfelt and luminously illustrated story about friendship and eternal love.
A lonely young boy is visited by a mysterious owl one sunny morning, forming an instant bond and a sense of belonging. What follows is a memorable summer full of playful adventures and shared, quiet joy. But when the owl must eventually continue his journey onward, the boy and the reader are left to reflect on the bittersweet nature of the passing of time, ultimately finding comfort in the remembrance of those who have passed through our lives and changed us forever.
This stunning and unique book—which feels instantly both new and classic—is sure to spark beautiful conversations as families share it together. It embraces the inevitability of having to say goodbye and celebrates the stillness of ordinary places and the shimmering beauty that can be found there should we take the time to wait and listen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In light-tinged landscapes and dreamlike lines by debut creator Fischer, an outsize owl befriends the book's narrating child protagonist for a season. The owl materializes with no warning: "In the morning of a summer day,/... a strange creature appeared beside me./ His feathers shivered like soft grass,/ he smelled like the sky." The pale-skinned child, who sports black glasses and a mass of curly hair, isn't intimidated by the enormous, silvery owl, who perches on a barrel and peers down with a kindly expression. The owl speaks, too; "This does seem like a/ very nice place," he observes. Muted, dappled sunlight illuminates the garden setting as the child plays and the owl looks on, and Fischer captures uncanny expressions as the bird watches the child draw with sidewalk chalk, play with toy figures, and brandish a sword; later, the two nap together indoors. Over the fleeting summer they share, the child recalls afterward, "the sky would stretch out/ above us each day like a blanket." Each soothing spread unfurls like a blanket, too, in this evocative reverie. Ages 3–7.
