#blogbookaday: Boat of Dreams

Summary:  “How does a fastidious old man with bowler, umbrella, suspenders, and a Salvador Dali mustache come to live on a deserted island? How does a boy come to live alone in an apparently deserted city? Are they separated by distance or by time? Does the man dream the boy? Does the boy dream the man? Is a blank paper in a floating bottle an invitation to imagine our futures? Is the man’s flying boat an encouragement to the boy to dream? Are the man and the boy the same person―the boy dwelling in the man’s memory? Is a message in a bottle the earthbound dreams of the elderly? Is a flying boat the unconstrained dreams of the young?

This wordless, many-layered 80-page picture book invites all these interpretations and more. The intricately detailed illustrations reveal new wonders with each viewing. Neither children nor adults will ever tire of this wonderful testament to imagination, memory, and dreams. ” (Taken from Goodreads)

Review: This is one of those books you must read half a dozen times before really “getting” it. It’s a beautifully illustrated, wordless picture book about imagination and dreams. An old man lives on a deserted island, kept company by a seagull and a young boy lives in (possibly?) deserted city with a cat. How these two characters come to interact is filled with a dream-like mystery that you can’t help but want to explore again and again.

Personal Reaction: If you’re looking for a gorgeously illustrated, fairly hefty (80 pages compared to the normal 32 pages) picture book for older students, teens and adults, then this is the book for you. Reminiscent of stop motion, claymation the characters in this book spring off the page as their intricately designed backgrounds build a world that fills the reader with questions. The colors, the texture everything about this book is gorgeous. Take some time and fall into the world of Boat of Dreams.

Title: Boat of Dreams
Author: Rogério Coelho
Illustrator: Rogério Coelho
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers
Publication Date: January 31, 2017

This is a new idea I’m trying on my blog this year that was inspired by @donalynbooks and @heisereads – to provide a brief review of a picture book every day of 2018. You’ll get a brief summary of the story, a review of the content, illustrations and theme, my personal reaction to the book and all the pertinent publication information! Enjoy!