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Ferry, Beth

Swashby and the Sea

32 pp. | Houghton | May, 2020 | Trade ISBN 978-0-544-70737-5 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-358-33578-8 $12.99
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. Retired sea captain Swashby (captain of the ship El Recluso) loved the sea, but he does not like people. When a bubbly girl and her grandmother move in next door to his house on the beach, Swashby rebuffs their friendly overtures, convinced that neighbors are "nosy, a nuisance, annoying," even though he can't resist grouchily offering advice on proper sand-castle construction and such. Swashby writes the pair messages in the sand, which the sea "fiddled with, just a little bit" to change their meanings from menacing to inviting; for instance, the tide erases most of the letters in his message "Please go away" so that it reads "Play." But when the sea meddles with the girl's sand castle, she plunges into the water, and Swashby doesn't hesitate to dive in after her. After that, he joins the girl and her grandmother for tea, ice cream, lobster, and s'mores, finally accepting that neighbors "could be fun, and friends, and...family." Illustrations home in on facial expressions, Swashby's intricately detailed facial hair, and the girl's nonstop activity, while the text features delightful alliteration and seafaring puns. Readers yearning for the beach will appreciate this feel-good story about a curmudgeon who is coaxed out of his shell and into an unlikely friendship.
Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2020

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