★ 05/19/2014
In the Caldecott Honor–winning Journey, much of Becker’s energy was devoted to the story’s exquisite backdrops. Now, in the second wordless book of his planned trilogy, the focus is on his characters. On a rainy day in a city park, the girl who starred in Journey and the boy introduced at the end take refuge by a doorway under a bridge. To their surprise, a king emerges from the door just long enough to pass the two a map before soldiers apprehend him. Returning to the magical Pallonezia, they find the walled city in flames, under siege. Becker includes wonderfully evocative set pieces—a submerged city, a Mayan temple—as the pair follows the map to collect chalk markers in all the colors of the rainbow to free the king and save the city. As before, hearts will beat faster during cliff-hanging moments in which the children must draw their way out of danger. While the artwork is a bit rougher, the strong visual narrative and inventive action sequences offer even more to savor. It’s another step forward in an already noteworthy career. Ages 4–8. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Sept.)
A wordless picture book with an enormous following. ... The vast landscapes [are] ably detailed in vibrant watercolors.
—New York Times Book Review
On the coattails of Journey Becker gleefully expands and details his award-winning fantasyland, growing even more ambitious with his storytelling. ... Part Indiana Jones, part Avatar: The Last Airbender, this book proves to be more exciting than its Caldecott Honor predecessor, emphasizing adventure over evocative metaphor. Breathtaking in scope, consider this a wordless testament to the power of not just imagination, but art itself; picture books rarely feel this epic.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Becker includes wonderfully evocative set pieces—a submerged city, a Mayan temple—as the pair follows the map to collect chalk markers in all the colors of the rainbow to free the king and save the city. As before, hearts will beat faster during cliff-hanging moments in which the children must draw their way out of danger. ... [T]he strong visual narrative and inventive action sequences offer even more to savor. It’s another step forward in an already noteworthy career.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Becker continues the loving and gorgeous homage to imagination he began in Journey with this direct sequel. ... In addition to the winning adventure of the silent story, Becker manages to evolve his imagery with more sophisticated designs and ideas that draw readers into the narrative ever more deeply, proving once again that lush details, a meticulous sense of motion and action, and a boundless love of fun are worth all the words in the world.
—Booklist (starred review)
Becker creates a visual narrative that is clear enough for children to decipher but complex enough to reward multiple readings. Much of the interest comes from his ability to successfully blend architectural styles from a variety of cultures and time periods, the type of exotic settings that children associate with potential danger and requisite cleverness and courage. He clearly understands (and perhaps wants to suggest) that loneliness, boredom, or rainy days can trigger rich, imaginative play. Creative problem solving is at the heart of this genial book.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
Becker’s illustrations are satisfyingly lush and full of subtle clues that will reward multiple readings. ... [F]ans of the first book will ... be happy to explore this fantastical world in more depth.
—The Horn Book
The intricate scenery, which includes an elaborately constructed castle, soldiers’ tiny dirigibles, an undersea civilization, and a flimsy and vertiginous rope bridge, provides a highly satisfactory imagined playground. The watercolors have a slightly smoky haze that adds to the epic quality of the landscape, while the inclusion of the map (a cleverly constituted color-coded infographic) allows kids to puzzle out the quest and match map components to the kids’ stops.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Thrillingly vertiginous... An exhilarating sequel to last year's "Journey" that has every bit as much visual enchantment. ... [A]ll rendered in gorgeous, confident illustrations that feel at once familiar and yet totally new.
—The Wall Street Journal
Artist Aaron Becker needs no words to amaze readers in 'Quest.' The book — which is the sequel to the Caldecott Honor-winning 'Journey' — uses beautiful illustrations to guide children through a mesmerizing adventure involving a king, an enchanted door, and a majestic purple bird. Let your little one's imagination take flight.
—Parents Magazine (tablet edition)
Triumphant. ... With a turn of the page, Becker takes readers into a full-spread, full-bleed vista of the monarch's kingdom... Becker's use of white space for his vignettes quickens the pace, while his full-bleed spreads beg readers to pause and pore over the details. He tucks in rewards for re-readers, such as a map inscribed on the lighthouse that replicates the one on the endpapers. ... Fans will eagerly anticipate the final installment of this engrossing wordless journey.
—Shelf Awareness (starred review)
Last year, Aaron Becker burst onto the scene with "Journey," opening the door onto a fantastically-imagined (and meticulously-rendered) world. Now he's back with "Quest" (the second installment in a planned trilogy), giving readers exactly what they wanted: the chance to dive back in and continue the journey.
—Huffington Post
I am almost loath to tell anyone about this magic book. If too many people notice it, Hollywood is bound to come knocking and turn this transporting, elegant story — a wordless picture book that's "Harold and the Purple Crayon" raised to the power of "The Lord of the Rings" — into something airless, bombastic and murderously trite. But to read this book once is to want to personally distribute one to every bored kid you've ever seen, Hollywood be damned. "Here," you'd say. "Flip through right now and spend the rest of your day trying to climb right into the pages. I'll wait."
—NPR, Best Books of 2014
The wordless picture book and its watercolor illustrations are a delight and a testament to the power of imagination.
—Columbus Dispatch
Readers will experience the power of wonder and the value of companionship through this picture book. With watercolor, pen, and ink illustrations adding a tone of mystery to the quest, this story invites readers to continue the imaginative journey begun in Becker’s earlier title.
—Reading Today Online
★ 07/01/2014
K-Gr 3—Becker places the boy, girl, and violet bird from Journey (Candlewick, 2013)—the first title of his wordless trilogy—into the gray watercolor and ink landscape of the second. Each child has a magical marker. As they take refuge from the rain under a bridge, the background skyscrapers recede and the fanciful sculptures of a winged gladiator and mermaid foreshadow coming adventures. Upon receiving a color-coded map from a king in custody, the kids sketch keys and enter the familiar realm from the previous title, where golden, Islamic domes mingle with medieval fortresses. This time, however, turrets blaze and enemy soldiers occupy the land. The quest takes the protagonists to an underwater Greco-Roman temple, through Mayan ruins and near a Buddha-like sculpture; four newly mined markers slip into a special belt that, when lifted up by the bird, creates a rainbow whose brilliance temporarily blinds their pursuers until order is restored. The arc also connects the children to their world upon reentry. Becker creates a visual narrative that is clear enough for children to decipher but complex enough to reward multiple readings. Much of the interest comes from his ability to successfully blend architectural styles from a variety of cultures and time periods, the type of exotic settings that children associate with potential danger and requisite cleverness and courage. He clearly understands (and perhaps wants to suggest) that loneliness, boredom, or rainy days can trigger rich, imaginative play. Creative problem solving is at the heart of this genial book.—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library
★ 2014-06-01
On the coattails of Journey (2013), Becker gleefully expands and details his award-winning fantasyland, growing even more ambitious with his storytelling.When readers last saw the boy and girl protagonists, they were sharing a tandem bike; this adventure opens with the children sheltering from raindrops under a bridge, the bike propped up against the wall. Suddenly, a desperate king bursts through a door set into the base of the bridge. He charges the two young heroes with collecting the six magic crayons that will defeat his realm’s enemy once and for all. Supplied with a map indicating where the crayons are hidden, the kids find each one (the girl stores them in a crayon bandolier), leading to a showdown with the bad guy that ends with a brilliant, rainbow-hued win for the forces of good. Harold-like, the children use the crayons to draw themselves out of scrapes along the way. Broadening his palette, Becker fills his book with myriad colorful details that will reward sharp-eyed fans. At the same time, his ink and watercolors evoke different kinds of architectural wonders (everything from Atlantis to Chichén Itzá). Part Indiana Jones, part Avatar: The Last Airbender, this book proves to be more exciting than its Caldecott Honor predecessor, emphasizing adventure over evocative metaphor.Breathtaking in scope, consider this a wordless testament to the power of not just imagination, but art itself; picture books rarely feel this epic. (Picture book. 4-8)
