#443 of 1001 · October 17, 2021

For a touching story that encapsulates the beauty of play, the sting of misfortune, and the consoling relief of family, look no further than Float by @danielmiyaresdoodles. After a family member makes him a paper boat out of folded newspaper, a young boy heads outside to play. Raindrops begin to fall, but he has come prepared with a bright yellow rain slicker, and he delights himself jumping in puddles and exploring rivulets. When he lets the paper vessel drift too far, however, it rushes away in the current, falls into a storm drain, and is washed out into a nearby river. The boy trudges home dejectedly, his spirits as damp and drooping as his beloved boat. However, a family member—no doubt the same one who fashioned the little craft in the first place—is waiting with a healing embrace, a mug of hot chocolate, and another newspaper ready to fold. In his wordless narrative, Miyares skillfully conveys action, tone, and palpable emotion. Against a backdrop of subtle grayscale, his digital illustrations employ only three colors: soft cyan and faded pink, for images visible amid the print of the newspaper, and bright yellow for the raincoat. As the boy heads out once more in the book’s final pages, clutching his newly folded paper airplane, the rain is gone and the yellow has migrated outward to fill the joyfully glowing sky. #float #boy #newspaper #paper #boat #rain #plane #airplane #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks