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Johnny, the Sea, and Me
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A timid ten-year-old boy meets Johnny, a gruff islander who will change his life, in Johnny, the Sea, and Me, a heartwarming middle-grade novel by Melba Escobarabout finding yourself and your place in the world-featuring illustrations by award-winning artist Elizabeth Builes.
Translated from Spanish by Sara Lissa Paulson
Pedro has always dreamed of going to the sea. So when his mom takes him on a special trip to a small island in the Caribbean, he's so happy that he grows an extra inch! But the troubles at home-bullying from classmates and an absent father-find a way to follow Pedro, even on vacation... Overwhelmed, the boy takes to the beach and runs away, hoping to leave his worries far behind.
That's when he meets Johnny, an islander descended from pirates. At first, Pedro is frightened by Johnny's imposing appearance and brusque manners. But Johnny, along with his chatty parrot Victoria, takes young Pedro under his wing and shares his island and his stories with him, thereby changing Pedro's life. Because sometimes, like Pedro, you have to lose yourself to find yourself.
Translated from Spanish by Sara Lissa Paulson
Pedro has always dreamed of going to the sea. So when his mom takes him on a special trip to a small island in the Caribbean, he's so happy that he grows an extra inch! But the troubles at home-bullying from classmates and an absent father-find a way to follow Pedro, even on vacation... Overwhelmed, the boy takes to the beach and runs away, hoping to leave his worries far behind.
That's when he meets Johnny, an islander descended from pirates. At first, Pedro is frightened by Johnny's imposing appearance and brusque manners. But Johnny, along with his chatty parrot Victoria, takes young Pedro under his wing and shares his island and his stories with him, thereby changing Pedro's life. Because sometimes, like Pedro, you have to lose yourself to find yourself.
Extent: 124 pp
Format: Hardback
Illustrations: 39 full-color illustrations
Publication date: 2024-09-19
Size: 22.2 x 14.9 cm
ISBN: 9781592704095
Praise for Johnny, the Sea, and Me
A 2025 Mildred L. Batchelder Honor BookAn Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) 2025 Notable Children's BookSelected for the USBBY Outstanding International Book List, 2025A Reading Group Choices Favorite YA for April 2025 A Publishers Weekly New & Noteworthy Children’s Book of July 2024A Parade Magazine Best New Book Release of the WeekThe Scripps National Spelling Bee Book Club’s Pick for August 2024One of Latinx in Publishing’s Most Anticipated July 2024 ReleasesSelected for the Children’s Book Council Spring 2024 Showcase on Transformation? STARRED REVIEW! ? "Translator Paulson (Book of Questions) gracefully incorporates hints of magical realism from Colombian writer Escobar... Escobar’s compatriot Builes contributes delicately lined artwork to this tale, which ruminates on the healing presence of a figure who lives life on his own terms."
Publishers Weekly
Made up of salient early moments in a boy’s coming of age, this Colombian import contains glints of magical realism and a picaresque, albeit parrot-narrated, pirate subplot. Pedro grows and shrinks according to his emotional state, and Escobar’s wry musings about treasure—is it the purported pirates’ plundered gold, or the island’s magnificent, prolific breadfruit tree?—sparkle like the seven-colored sea. Builes’ pale, delicate illustrations add humorous touches. Lively and thought provoking.
Kirkus Reviews
“Originally published in Colombia, the story is beautifully told in spare language, evidencing the truth that less is more. Pedro and Johnny are well-developed characters, and their warm relationship is nicely realized. The book itself, beautifully designed, is enriched by lovely illustrations by artist Builes. It’s a treasure.”
Booklist
About the Authors
Melba Escobar is a Colombian author and journalist. Her debut Spanish-language children’s book, Johnny, the Sea, and Me, was selected for the 2015 White Ravens catalog as an outstanding international book by the International Youth Library. Escobar lives in Barcelona with her husband and two children, and writes for El País and Colombia’s El Tiempo.
Elizabeth Builes is a Colombian illustrator who won the Tragaluz Illustration Award in 2013 and went on to receive worldwide recognition for the original Colombian edition of Johnny, the Sea and Me in 2015.
Sara Lissa Paulson is a translator of Spanish and Latin American poetry, picture books, and middle grade fiction. Her first translation, Pablo Neruda’s Book of Questions, illustrated by Paloma Valdivia, was selected as a New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2022.
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