Return
By Jan Carr,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Wondrous finale to fantastical wordless trilogy.
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What's the Story?
In RETURN, the young girl we met in the previous two books again tries to catch the attention of her artist dad working at his drafting table, hoping they'll fly her red kite. But again, he's too distracted, so she uses her red crayon to draw the door in her room that opens to her magical kingdom. This time, the dad follows. A boat awaits him and takes him to meet the young boy and king who've been her fellow adventurers. But when the king is captured by the villains, the girl and father together use the crayon to draw a submarine that takes them to an underground cave with ancient cave paintings that recount the past stories and point the way to the story's solution. Girl and dad draw a trap for the villains, freeing them to return to their city life where they at last fly her red kite.
Is It Any Good?
Art and imagination can transport us, and so can this beautiful picture book, third in a wordless trilogy that takes its heroine on a magical adventure and carries the reader along for the ride. A girl and her friends create their own adventures with crayons, and the world they imagine is beautiful but dangerous, so they draw their way out of harm by creating a griffin and a submarine to help them escape their pursuers. Though the book can stand on its own, it features the same players we've met before and the same threat, which is at last satisfyingly resolved, so it may be most fun and meaningful when paired with the previous two books.
With his mesmerizing moonlit kingdom by the sea, author-illustrator Aaron Becker has created a world kids will want to return to again and again, and readers' imaginations will take flight as surely as if they're riding on the back of the purple griffin. This wordless page-turner is packed with action and relates a worthy moral: That our imaginations can deliver us.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about wordless stories. Why do you think this artist chose to tell this story without words? Without text, how do you know what's happening? Find the details on each page that move the story forward.
If you were being chased by villains, what would you draw to help you escape?
Find pictures online of the ancient Lascaux cave paintings that date from the Paleolithic era. How are these cave paintings similar? How are they different?
Book Details
- Author: Aaron Becker
- Illustrator: Aaron Becker
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy , Adventures , Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Candlewick Press
- Publication date: August 2, 2016
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback
- Last updated: July 13, 2017
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