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Summary
Summary
A gentle, humorous story has a significant message of love and acceptance.
The first baby arrived on the mail plane, the second two on the ferry, the fourth asleep on a pile of nets, smelling of mackerel. Who were the babies? Where did they come from? The notes left with them said "Please keep this baby safe" and "Please give my child shelter." Only the librarian can take them home, and the library is where they grow up. The whole island helps to raise them. The fisherman teaches them to cast from the pier, the ferryman shows them charts of the sea, and from the harbormaster they learn to recognize birds.
"Who are you?" other children ask. "Why don't you look alike?" The librarian gathers them in her arms. "Families don't always look alike," she says. "And where we're going is more important than where we came from."
This charming, lighthearted fairytale contains a message of acceptance that is particularly significant for our time.
Author Notes
Christine McDonnell grew up in New York suburbs and attended Barnard College and Columbia University Library School. She is a former New York City and Boston librarian, and subsequently taught in the Brookline, Massachusetts, public schools. She currently runs the book club at Brookline Booksmith and teaches literacy at Rosie's Place, a women's shelter.
Ms. McDonnell is the author of ten chapter books and middle grade novels as well as four picture books. She holds an MFA from Hamline University.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--Four babies arrive on an island; one is flown in with the mail, two arrive by boat, and one is found asleep on a pile of fishing nets on the dock. Each child has a note attached requesting that the babies be raised well, given shelter, and kept safe. No one knows where the two girls and two boys came from and it's difficult to find someone willing to care for all of them. "Then I'll do it myself," says the stalwart island librarian. The babies, all with differing skin colors and hair textures are welcomed into her home. Though the librarian takes them to live with her, she does not have to raise the children alone. As the youngsters grow, the harbormaster, the ferryman, and a fisherman teach the children about island life. Charming pastel illustrations, which are digitally painted, vary from vignettes to single pages and spreads, revealing the cozy living arrangements. Life above the library, sleeping in cribs made from lobster traps, and learning about all the wonders of the island combine to create an idyllic childhood. VERDICT This delightful tale is the embodiment of the African proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child."--Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI
Kirkus Review
A fable of four babies and how they become dearly loved and a family is created.Four babies mysteriously arrive on an island: one in the mail, two on a ferry, one in a pile of fishing nets. No one knows where they have come from, who their families are, or what to do with thembut the librarian, a black woman, has a few ideas. Readers will be enthralled with this story as they learn who takes care of the babies, what the babies experience, and how the babies grow into children, loved and cared for by the whole community. Bradley's enchanting illustrations depict a diverse cast, including people of color among the islanders, babies, and toys, and place it in a well-realized island setting. Details delight, from the lobster-trap cradles to the babies' alphabetical names. Each baby has its own distinct personality, strengths, and experiences. As the babies grow into older children, they ask questions about where they came from and why they do not look like one another. These are relevant and accurate questions that can be used to open dialogues with child readers to introduce deeper and more serious conversations surrounding adoption. While the fantasy plotline of the babies' arrivals is whimsical, the story is grounded in an emotional reality that will appeal to and delight children.Charming and lighthearted with broadly applicable messages of love and acceptance. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
One eventful day on an unnamed island, four babies arrive, all needing homes. One girl comes by plane, hidden in a mailbag. Two boys are found in a canvas carrier on the ferry, and the last little girl is discovered sleeping in fish nets. The infants have notes asking that they be cared for, and so the harbormaster, ferryman, fisherman, mayor, and librarian work together to create space in the town library for the babies now named Agatha, Bram, Charles, and Dorothy. McDonnell's whimsical story has a fairy-tale quality to it, thanks to the mysterious joint arrival, the uncomplicated way the librarian, Eleanor Book, adopts the children, and the idyllic island setting. Bradley's pictures contribute to the magical tone by portraying Agatha in a hot-air balloon, Bram and Charles in a small sailboat, and Dorothy with a mermaid's tail. Loose, flowing illustrations have the look of watercolors, pen, and ink. A gentle, loving story that will be appreciated by book lovers and many kinds of families.--Lucinda Whitehurst Copyright 2020 Booklist