Description
Temporarily out of stock
Title: Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, The
Author: CUEVAS MICHELLE
Illustrator: STEAD ERIN E (ILL)
Format: HARDCOVER
Publication date: 17/10/2016
Imprint: DIAL PRESS
Price: $33.00
Publishing status: Active
A message in a bottle holds the promise of surprise and wonder, as told in this enthralling picture book by Caldecott Medalist Erin E. Stead
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, who lives alone atop a hill, has a job of the utmost importance. It is his task to open any bottles found at sea and make sure that the messages are delivered. He loves his job, though he has always wished that, someday, one of the letters would be addressed to him. One day he opens a party invitation but there s no name attached. As he devotes himself to the mystery of the intended recipient, he ends up finding something even more special: the possibility of new friends.\”
Publishers Weekly (06/06/2016):
The eccentric seaman of the title lives alone in a tumbledown beach cottage: aHe had no name. He had no friends. He stank of seaweed, a writes Cuevas (\”Confessions of an Imaginary Friend\”. By bringing the messages he finds floating in bottles on the waves to nearby villagers, his life gains meaning. Some messages are awritten by a quill dipped in sadness, a while others amade people quite happy, for a letter can hold the treasure of a clam-hugged pearl.a One day he uncorks an invitation to a seashore party. No one claims it, but when he ventures shyly to the beach, those he has served serenade him; he even tries dancing. Caldecott Medalist Steadas (\”A Sick Day for Amos McGee\” ethereal spreads give the characters distinctive, captivating personalities. In one, the Uncorker sits at his table in his fishermanas cap, lost in a dream; in another, an older woman closes her eyes, transported with joy by the letter she receives. The underlying message about learning to see the worth of every person is a treasure. Ages 4a 8. \”Agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Aug.)\” Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.
School Library Journal (06/01/2016):
K-Gr 2–A man who lives at the seashore has a unique–but lonely–job. The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles spends his days watching the waves for a glint of glass and delivering messages near and far. His only companions are an orange tabby cat and a cow. Befitting the slightly melancholy tone, Cuevas’s text is appropriately lyrical (\”Sometimes the messages were very old, crunchy like leaves in the fall. Sometimes the messages were written by a quill dipped in sadness.\”). When he discovers a bottle with an invitation to a party the next evening–with no recipient specified–the Uncorker is curious. After asking the maker of cakes, the candy shop owner, several townspeople, a seagull, and a one-man band if they recognize the handwriting (no one does, though they all profess a desire to attend such a party), the Uncorker decides to go to the event himself in hopes of returning the message to the original author. Lightly textured oil pastels in shades of warm tangerine and cool turquoise suggest a dreamy landscape of fog, waves, sand, and sun. But it’s Stead’s people and animals that tug the heartstrings. Like gentle zookeeper Amos McGee and the patient young explorer in \”If You Want To See a Whale\”, Stead’s characters exude an endearing vulnerability and quirky charm. Though the impromptu celebration on the seashore at sundown won’t necessarily come as a surprise, the message about connection and community is beautifully delivered. VERDICT A perfect pairing of text and art. Share this quiet story with your wishers and dreamers.–\”Kiera Parrott\”, School Library Journal Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus Reviews (06/01/2016):
A man who delivers messages sent via ocean bottle longs for a message of his own.With his pale skin and expressive eyebrows, the otherwise nameless Uncorker of Ocean Bottles, a white man who could be any age from young adult to elderly, is the very picture of quiet, determined, and lonely. How he came by his job isn’t told, but it is clear he takes it seriously, understanding the importance of the communications he brings. Cuevas’ poetic language plays with meter and words, as when he contemplates the improbability of receiving a message of his own: \”But he still would have liked it just the same.\” Stead’s illustrations in woodblock, oil pastels, and pencil seem to enfold her subject. His cat comes along on some of his missions, while various birds of sea and shore appear along his way like guiding spirits in the sun or rain or snow. When a message–an invitation to a party at the seashore–arrives with no definite sender or recipient, the Uncorker shares it with several people–and then goes himself. The people of the town, dark- and white-skinned neighbors gathered on the beach, suggest a community that perhaps already knows and certainly embraces him. Readers will find both consolation and encouragement on every visit to this emotionally resonant, evocative story. (Picture book. 3-8) COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ISBN: 9780803738683
Weight: 567g
Pages: 40