#341 of 1001 · July 7, 2021

Here is a look at @paulowenlewis’s compelling and enigmatic Storm Boy. A boy is swept out of his fishing boat by a storm and finds himself in an unknown land where a tribe of giant people welcomes him with food, warmth, and shelter. They teach him the steps of their dances, and he in turn teaches them the songs and dances of his own people. The true nature of these otherworldly beings can be inferred from the hints Lewis scatters throughout both the text and the art, and can finally be plainly seen during the boy’s journey back to his own land (for which he has his eyes closed). When he returns to his family, he is shocked to discover that, in the space of what he perceived as only a few hours, an entire year has slipped by. Written under the guidance of a cultural advisor, and with a portion of its proceeds having been donated to the Haida Gwaii Rediscovery program for tribal youth, the story combines folkloric motifs from the Haida, Tlingit, and other native tribes of the Pacific Northwest and draws inspiration from Joseph Campbell’s template of the “hero’s journey”. Lewis’s illustrations honor the tradition of Pacific Northwest art in their depiction of both the mundane and the supernatural. #storm #boy #whale #whales #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks