Jack's Fantastic Voyage by Michael Foreman
| Jack's Fantastic Voyage by Michael Foreman | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Keith Dudhnath
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| Summary: A sweet and gentle tale of the love and affection between a grandfather and grandson. The sea-faring adventure is great, as are Michael Foreman's gorgeous illustrations. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: November 2010 |
| Publisher: Andersen Press | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1849392563 | |
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Jack loves spending time with his sea-loving grandfather, hearing tales of his old ocean voyages, and seeing his beautiful paintings. When other kids in the village cast doubts about whether Grandfather really has ever been to sea, Jack begins to see things in a new light. However, as he's drifting off to sleep, Jack, Grandfather and Grandfather's house are all whisked away on a fantastic voyage across the sea.
Jack's Fantastic Voyage is a wonderfully sweet tale, with just enough seeds of doubt sown throughout. Like Jack, you'll be wondering what's true and what's not, what's a dream and what's reality. Wherever truth lies ultimately doesn't matter: Jack loves his grandfather and vice versa. The two of them are blissfully happy in each other's company, just as any grandparents sharing this with little ones will be. It's smartly written, with more text than the average picture book, but very young book fans won't feel lost or bored.
Michael Foreman's illustrations are gentle and magical. You can practically smell the salt and feel the spray of the sea on your face. They set the mood perfectly, with just the right mix of action and adventure, yet coupled with peacefulness and contentment. For all the high-energy voyages across the seas, it is, at heart, a gentle and relaxing book. It makes for a particularly enjoyable bedtime story for drifting off too, with its finely crafted pace.
It's easy to knock both it was all a dream or it wasn't a dream - it was really magic as denouements. The ambiguity is a real strength of Jack's Fantastic Voyage, but come the end, it's right that a side was picked. On the first reading, it didn't sit entirely comfortably with me, but there's no clearly better alternative. Subsequent readings were much more satisfactory, so don't dismiss it if you're not blown away by the ending first time round. Give it a chance and it will become a much-loved part of your reading rotation. Warmly recommended.
My thanks to the publishers for sending it to Bookbag.
For other books that grandparents will particularly enjoy sharing, check out Old Dog by Jeanne Willis and Tony Ross and Elmer and Grandpa Eldo by David McKee. If you want a whiff of sea air in your nostrils, take a look at Three By The Sea by Mini Grey and Captain Wag and the Polar Bears by Michael Terry.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Jack's Fantastic Voyage by Michael Foreman at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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