Pea Pod Lullaby

by Glenda Millard, Stephen Michael King (Illustrator)

Overview

In poetic language and soft watercolor illustrations, this gentle lullaby of a tale evokes a story about finding refuge.

Escaping flames and barbed wire, a mother, a baby, a boy, and a dog flee for their lives, climbing into a small sailboat to set off to sea. A polar bear, too, has come adrift. When will they find land? Who will welcome them in? Where will they call home? With lyrical narration and child-friendly illustrations, Glenda Millard and Stephen Michael King create a comforting and timely story about courage, endurance, and hope — and what we can be for one another.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536201970
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	12/11/2018
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Glenda Millard is an award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults, including the young adult novel The Stars at Oktober Bend and the picture books Isabella’s Garden, illustrated by Rebecca Cool, and Once a Shepherd, illustrated by Phil Lesnie. Glenda Millard lives in Australia.

Stephen Michael King has illustrated, written, and designed many books for children, including The Duck and the Darklings by Glenda Millard. He lives in Australia.

Editorial Reviews

10/08/2018
The Australian duo created this story during a real-time gallery collaboration, a note explains. In loose pencil, colorful wash, and lyrical lines, they portray a refugee family’s journey in the gentlest possible light. King draws a mother with a babe in her arms and an older child and hound running through coils of barbed wire away from a fiery battlefield. Yet the figures’ features betray no trauma. A tiny, scruffy boat awaits them. Millard writes in the prayerful voice of a child addressing a parent, or a loved one addressing the beloved: “I am the small green pea/ you are the tender pod/ hold me.” The sail fills, and the family’s sea journey begins. “I am the drifting boat/ you are the quiet deep/ buoy me.” Their voyage never seems dangerous, and sometimes is sweetly fanciful, as when they rescue a stranded polar bear. At journey’s end, safe refuge awaits. With a story that suggests a flight from violence but does not dwell on it, adults can explain as much or as little to young readers as they are ready to hear. Ages 3–7. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Millard writes in the prayerful voice of a child addressing a parent, or a loved one addressing the beloved...With a story that suggests a flight from violence but does not dwell on it, adults can explain as much or as little to young readers as they are ready to hear.
—Publishers Weekly

Though the sophisticated and ambiguous text makes “lullaby” a misnomer, this is, nevertheless, a powerful catalyst for discussions of war and its consequences and for ways to help those in need. Best shared one-on-one.
—School Library Journal

They can even speak for all refugees. “I / You / We,” the text reads as King illustrates our globe itself, suspended in space, on the final page. It’s as if the very words in this book bloom; with each page turn, they open their arms wider to include more of the world. It’s an enigmatic, wondrous poem, this text.
—Kirkus Reviews (blog)

Lyrical.
—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

11/01/2018

Gr 1–4—A woman, her infant, young daughter, and dog travel across the sea in a small boat bearing a single patched sail. The spread on the copyright and title pages, however, reveals that this is not a pleasure trip. With a fire-red sky and black billows bursting behind them, the family runs along a barbed wire fence through the night to a cliff's edge and into their boat. Poetic triplets that express the children's vulnerability and confidence in their parent's protection accompany their journey. "I am the drifting boat/you are the quiet deep/buoy me." "I am the falling star/you are the wishful hands/catch me." Their rescue of an imaginary polar bear along the way further emphasizes that the woman will safeguard those in her care. This collaboration of Millard's lyrical text with King's striking watercolor-and-ink illustrations was originally part of Australia's Manning Regional Art Gallery's Wall Project. Long brush strokes of gray-black color sweep across each spread, and black even appears beneath the ocean blue. Only when the bear is rescued does the sky give way to bright yellow and, finally, to light blue and white as the family disembarks on what is hoped to be a friendly shore. The final words, "I/you/we," and an image of Earth likely implies global connection. VERDICT Though the sophisticated and ambiguous text makes "lullaby" a misnomer, this is, nevertheless, a powerful catalyst for discussions of war and its consequences and for ways to help those in need. Best shared one-on-one.—Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA

School Library Journal

2018-09-17

A family takes an ocean journey from a bleak, war-torn location to a dock by a small house where a man and dog appear to welcome them.

The action begins immediately in this Australian import, as a woman, baby, young child (all have tan complexions), and brown dog run pell-mell down a slope tangled with barbed wire on the title page. Fiery red and yellow splashes behind them imply violence without offering details. Climbing into a boat with a patched sail, they set out. They see only the sea and sky until (improbably) they meet a polar bear perched on a floating refrigerator. After helping the polar bear to get home, the family sails on. King's lovely ink-and-watercolor illustrations are simple but evocative. Blues and grays predominate, making the occasional appearance of bright green, yellow, and red stand out. Multiple unframed horizontal panels create a sense of movement, while double-page spreads allow readers a closer look at specific moments in the journey. Millard's brief text, meanwhile, is decidedly abstract. Paired phrases contrast "I" and "you," and each ends with an exhortation: "I am the small green pea / you are the tender pod / hold me." Unfortunately, confusion about who is speaking to whom often makes it hard to understand who is being asked to "quench me" or "shelter me," and some requests ("dance me") may truly perplex young listeners.

While some adults may welcome the chance to discuss the issues raised in the illustrations, many may find the text, however lyrical, a barrier to comprehension. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews