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Summary
Summary
A tender new story from the award-winning creator of Julián Is a Mermaid celebrates first-time camping, father-child bonding, and feeling at one with the universe.
"We're going camping, you and me."
"Where?" I ask.
"The desert," says Dad . . . "To shake hands with the universe."
Going to bed each night can be dark and scary. The night sky stretches out endlessly, making one sensitive child feel small in comparison. So Dad comes up with a plan: a night of camping out in the desert. Together, the two load up Darlin', the old pickup truck, and drive over the mountain with the radio on, stopping to shoot the breeze at a junkyard before setting up camp, jumping in sand dunes, and lying back to name all the birds they can see. After sunset, when the young thinker feels tiny against the vast sky, Dad knows just what to ask--and just what to say--to soothe away fears. Maybe this night spent under the stars (and a surprise from Mom and the baby later) are just what is needed to show that the universe is a friendly place. From acclaimed author-illustrator Jessica Love comes a story of small moments between father and child that affirms the comfort of finding one's place in the world.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--A young boy has a fear of going to sleep. "It used to be, when it was time for bed, I would imagine the whole universe stretching on endlessly, forever. The bigger it got, the smaller I felt. I was too worried to fall asleep." His mom and dad have a plan to help him face his fears, and the boy and his father get out of town for an overnight camping trip in the desert. They are going "to shake hands with the universe." On the way, they explore the flora and fauna of the desert, as well as the sunset, and eventually the stars. Through this series of small events, the boy comes to realize that he and the stars and all the nature around him are made of the same energy, and he finds comfort in sleeping in the truck bed with his father close beside him and a sea of stars that now have names. When he returns home, his mother has surprised him by sticking glow-in-the-dark stars all over his room so that he now has "the whole universe in my little bedroom." Love's illustrations, done in watercolor, gouache, and ink, capture the beauty of the desert as well as the love between the boy and his father. VERDICT In an essential book about facing almost any kind of fear, the creator's ability to honor those fears without making them the entire focus is truly remarkable and renders a universal appeal.--John Scott
Publisher's Weekly Review
"We're going camping, you and me," Dad says one morning to the young narrator of this picture book. The two set out for the desert in the white-presenting family's pickup truck, encountering the land's beauty, captured by Love (I Love You Because I Love You) in sketchbook-style paintings and carefully observed phrases ("This is my best smell" says the child about the mountains' fragrance). In images that center the experience of having a parent's undivided attention, father and child identify flora and fauna, jump in sand dunes, and snuggle under the starry desert sky, its vastness echoed accessibly in the print of their truck-bed blanket. When the child confesses to being frightened by "how big the universe is and how it goes on forever and ever," Dad knows just what to say. Stars are made of energy, he explains, "Same as you. Same as the beetles and crows and coyotes. It's all friends and family in this universe." It's a gem of a moment, an example of the way a parent can hear and transform a child's fear. When the two return, repeating the names of "all the new friends I've met... beetles, cacti, coyotes, stars," Mom shares another surprise in this tender story about learning to approach that which feels unknown. Ages 4--8. Agent: Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, Gernert Co. (Apr.)
Booklist Review
A young child intimidated by the vast size of the universe has trouble falling asleep, so Dad plans a camping trip just for the two of them. They drive into the desert noting all that they see: plants, birds, and tracks in the sand. They build a fire, sing songs, watch the sunset, and snuggle into their truck bed to sleep under the stars. Dad allays his progeny's fears by explaining that stars are made of energy, the same as everything on Earth. Love (Julián Is a Mermaid, 2018) offers up a relatable, young protagonist seeking security and safety in the surrounding world. The watercolor, gouache, and ink illustrations privilege evening blues and desert earth tones that are enlivened by splashes of pink and green depicting flora, sunrises and sunsets, and clothing. Several of the spreads depict fantastical scenes as the child imagines a sky map filled with familiar plants, animals, and even the family truck. A reassuring look at our place in the universe.