Swashby and the Sea

February 15, 2020
Old Capt. Swashby's peaceful seaside home is disturbed when a gregarious little girl and her granny move into the once-empty house next door. The only neighbor Capt. Swashby has ever wanted was his old friend the sea, so when new neighbors began to take over the beach--and even Swashby's deck--without permission, he leaves a message in the sand for the interlopers that reads, "NO TRESPASSING." The sea "fiddle[s]" with Swashby's message and washes away most of the letters, leaving the word "SING," which the little girl does "while dancing up and down [along] Swashby's deck." It changes two other unwelcoming messages to invitations for the girl and her granny to "W_ISH" upon a starfish and "PL_AY" in the sand. Then, after building a sand castle (following Capt. Swashby's grouchily delivered advice), the girl is washed out to sea--to be rescued by the old salt, beginning a wholehearted friendship. The feeling of place is solidified by Martinez-Neal's use of color, which breathes the life into this story; the muted beige, blue, and turquoise palette is perfect for a beach tale. The cantankerous old coot is depicted as a white man with an enormous gray beard while the girl and her granny are depicted with brown skin, exuberant Afros, and enormous spectacles. This sweet story of friendship is sure to win over even the grumpiest of listeners. (Picture book. 4-7)

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April 13, 2020
Swashby, a bushy-bearded, red-nosed old salt, is ready to spend a reclusive retirement (“Salty/ and sandy/ and serene”) by his longtime friend, the sea. “She knew him in and out,/ up and down,/ and better than anyone,” writes Ferry (Ten Rules of the Birthday Wish). When a girl and her grandmother move in next door (“nosy,/ a nuisance,/ annoying”), he starts leaving stern warning messages in the sand. “NO TRESPASSING,” reads the first, “which the sea fiddled with, just a little bit,” turning it into “SING,” which the girl does with gusto. When the sea turns “PLEASE GO AWAY” into “PL—AY,” the child almost coaxes Swashby into being her playmate. But it takes the sea turning dangerous to fully open Swashby’s heart; he rescues the girl and embraces neighborliness, realizing that it can mean “fun,/ and friends,/ and... family.” Caldecott Honoree Martinez-Neal’s acrylic, colored pencil, and graphite drawings teeter between scenes curmudgeonly and sweet, underscoring the story’s tensions. A strong sense of place emerges from the palette, redolent of sunlit sand and sea glass, and the interplay between Swashby and his meddling sea has its magic. Ages 4–7. Author’s agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties. Illustrator’s agent: Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary.

Starred review from March 1, 2020
Preschool-G *Starred Review* Captain Swashby retires to a little seaside house, enjoying the serenity until a lively little girl and her amiable granny move in next door. Suddenly grumpy, Swashby hides when they ring the doorbell and feeds their gift of cookies to the gulls. He even writes a message in the wet sand: NO TRESPASSING. But the sea fiddles with it, erasing a few letters. The girl reads only SING, and so she does. After he writes PLEASE GO AWAY, the sea fiddles again, leaving PL-AY for the girl to read, and so she does. But when the sea carries the child away from the shore, Swashby dives in, brings her back, and, upon reflection, forges a friendship with his new neighbors. The illustrator of the Caldecott Honor-winning Alma and How She Got Her Name (2018), Martinez-Neal uses acrylics, colored pencils, and graphite to create pictures that capture the feel of the seaside, as well as the protagonist's shifting emotions. Telling a story with imagination and wit, Ferry creates a cantankerous but lovable character in Captain Swashby and a mysterious, well-intentioned, mischievous one in the sea, which transforms the captain's final message, THANK YE, FRIEND, into THE END. It's a fitting conclusion to an exceptionally satisfying picture book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)