#116 of 1001 · November 24, 2020

I have to shake my head in admiration every time I remember that this book exists. Part supernatural adventure, part quiet character study, and part radical queer affirmation, this is Caleb’s Friend by Eric Jon Nones. Young orphan Caleb makes his living aboard a fishing boat. One night, after he accidentally drops his prized harmonica into the ocean, a merboy surfaces and returns it to him. So begins a riveting sequence of events in which the boys save each other’s lives and develop a powerful bond before they must part. There is nothing overtly romantic about the tale, but Nones laces the interactions between the two main characters with an exquisitely tender homosocial affection. The poignant illustrations of the silvery merboy manifest a rare expression of masculinity as sweetly soft as moonlight, as proudly wild as the flip of a fin, as joyously fluid as the sea itself. #merboy #ocean #sea #queer #love #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks