#blogbookaday: Captain Starfish
Summary: “Alfie wants to participate in the best parts of being a kid, from his friend Antoinette’s birthday party to the relay races at school. But his shyness keeps him from engaging. When Alfie wakes up with That Feeling on the morning of yet another big event—the underwater costume parade—his mom takes him to the aquarium.
There, Alfie meets a starfish who shines so boldly Alfie feels small. But suddenly, a tiny clownfish swims up to Alfie for a quick hello and retreats again. Alfie begins to understand that there’s a happy medium between hiding away and being the star, and that he needs to come out of hiding every once and awhile to make meaningful connections. ” (Taken from Goodreads)
Review: Alfie is a shy little boy, whose shyness sometimes overpowers him, preventing him from activities like Antoinette’s birthday party or leading the underwater costume parade at school. But, when Alfie’s mom takes him to the aquarium, he sees a little clown fish that seems to swim up to him to say hello and they hides again among the coral. Alfie learns that sometimes you’ve got to reach out and take a chance, rather than hide away!
Personal Reaction: I found the color palette of this book to be so intriguing! The entire story is told through pale pink, cobalt blue, seafoam green, smoky gray, warm brown, and a little white and black for accents. The focus on these colors ties the whole story together in a really cohesive way, while the text shows Alfie being shy is okay, but coming out of you shell once in a while is good idea too.
Title: Captain Starfish
Author: Davina Bell
Illustrator: Allison Colpoys
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Publication Date: March 20, 2018
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!
