From the creators of the gorgeous bestseller "The Night Gardener" comes a stunning new picture book about a young boy who sets sail to find a place his grandfather told him aboutEthe spot where the ocean meets the sky. The artwork so easily conveys the magic of this place with cloud pictures, giant sea creatures, The Library islands with its bookish birds along with air and sea vessels of every kind converging there. This text, which has won many awards and honours, combines the quality writing and luminous illustrations of the Fan Brothers. It was a bit of an emotional read too since I lost my grandfather earlier this year, who was in the same age range as Finn’s, but I didn’t get to see him to say bye.

Full of Gorgeous illustrations, this one is sure to captivate young readers, as they too, read and sail along, on this Magical Journey. I don't usually rate picture books here, although I read enough of them with my children, but I have had this one on my 'to-read' list for some time so it deserves a formal send-off. This beautiful and poignant story has stunning illustrations throughout and explores themes of family, memory and loss. This is a gorgeous, fantastical story of the enduring bond of a child and his grandfather and a dreamy glimpse of what might lay beyond. My plan was to visit my country later this year to see him and my grandmother, but corona popped up, he passed, and I didn’t bother following through on plans to prepare to travel later on.My class of 5 year olds absolutely loved ‘The Barnabus Project’ (and I loved engaging with a story that was emotionally moving) so had to try something else by the Fan Brothers. Tired from the building, he falls asleep and wakes on the ocean under clouds shaped like a pipe, an anchor and a whale. Every time he looks out his window it's a constant reminder of the stories his grandfather told him about the place where the ocean meets the sky. As someone who grew up in a time when Asians were very rarely represented in English-language picture books (other than as oddities), and even more rarely represented in English-language picture books created by authors of Asian heritage, I absolutely loved this unobtrusive integration of Asian characters and Asian cultural elements into the book.

Highly recommended, to all fellow Fan Brothers fans, to anyone who appreciates beautiful picture-books, and to anyone looking for children's stories about loss, grief, and the places our dreams can take us. From the creators of The Night Gardener , comes a stunning new picture book about a young boy who sets sail to find a place his grandfather told him about… the spot where the ocean meets the sky.Here they follow the story of Finn, a young boy who is missing his (presumably deceased) grandfather. There are few picture book artists as cinematic as the Fan Brothers and Ocean Meets Sky builds on the quiet brilliance of The Night Gardener to craft an azure world of epic proportions. Finn and the fish visit the Library Islands where birds wear top hats, an island of truly giant shells, a sea full of dancing jellyfish, and then they are there. On what would have been his grandfather’s ninetieth birthday, he finds himself missing his grandfather’s stories and wisdom.

It’s about an Asian boy remembering his grandfather, who’d passed, and the stories he’d tell Finn about the place where ocean meets sky. He would have been ninety if he was still around, and in his honour, Finn builds a boat for a journey they had planned together. Picked up this Beautiful Gem at my local library last week for my daughter and just realized its up for a Goodreads Choice Award! Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc. The story highlights the importance of cherishing memories of people who have passed, and does this in an uplifting, life-affirming way.

So I thought it was nice and comforting that Finn could travel to an amazing, fantastical place his grandfather told him about to tell him goodbye. Born in Hawaii and raised in Toronto, he attended the Ontario College of Art and Design, where he studied illustration, sculpture, and f ilm. It’s exactly the kind of book I sometimes give as a gift to a friend (of course, after reading it myself, first). Spelling Seeds have been designed to complement Writing Roots by providing weekly, contextualised sequences of sessions for the teaching of spelling that include open-ended investigations and opportunities to practise and apply within meaningful and purposeful contexts, linked (where relevant) to other areas of the curriculum and a suggestion of how to extend the investigation into home learning. The story itself is emotionally resonant, without ever feeling overdone or manipulative, and touches on issues of death, grief and memory, as well as the power of dreams.