#187 of 1001 · February 3, 2021

There’s a powerful distillation of innocence and imagination throughout The Story of James by David McPhail. James pulls his younger brother in a wagon down to a nearby stream. Soon, to his confusion, he realizes that the wagon is empty, except for a note—waterlogged and illegible. Where could his brother have gone? After an enormous fish claims to be able to read the blurry writing and directs him to the seashore, James sets off down a road populated by whimsically obtuse characters. When no one seems to be able to help him, he dejectedly returns home to confess to his mother that his brother is lost. An unexpected twist provides the relief of a happy ending, but subtly calls the entire preceding sequence of events into question. Through delicately humorous writing and softly shaded art, McPhail expertly guides his readers through the shifting grounds of childhood fantasy and emotion. #brother #brothers #fish #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #classicchildrensbooks #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks