posted on 31 Jul 2019

Old Man of the Sea by Stella Elia and Weberson Santiago

The ever creative Lantana Publishing have brought us a beautiful picture book by the Brazilian partnership of Stella Elia and Weberson Santiago. Elia, a children’s book author, is also an art teacher and clearly she writes with the visual in mind. Santiago in his turn picks up on the vibe the words create and is talented and experienced enough in children’s book illustration to capture the atmosphere perfectly.

The stories told by the old man – told by a Grandpa to his Grandson – are essential a celebration of the imaginative bond that can be made between generations.

“One day, Grandpa held my hand and pulled me closer.

‘Do you see my face?’ he asked me. ‘Every line on my skin tells the story of my life.’”

From this point onwards Grandpa opens up a fantastical tale of his sea journeys around the world and the stories he’s collected on his travels – the experiences that have created the lines on his face.

Elia gives the narratives a satisfying, repetitive structure that children really love in stories. First he tells the story of his encounter with Europe, then Africa, Asia and so on. Each dalliance with a new continent ends with the same magic incantation:

‘He filled his luggage with stories and returned to the sea.’

Between each continent he sets sail on peaceful, stormy and starlit seas, making friends with fellow sailors, birds and following dolphins. When Grandpa’s journey takes him to South America he finds true love and for the first time he ‘forgot to go back to sea’ and settled down to start his family.

There’s something entirely magical about Grandpa’s tales and you’ll be left wondering whether they are true or not but hopefully you’ll conclude, as does his grandson, that it really doesn’t matter if they’re true or not.

He goes away with this important life lesson:

‘Grandpa always told me:

“To learn north, east, south and west, you need to navigate. The land is your grandmother, her stories your stories, and life, my grandson, is a sailor’s knot: simple, resistant and easy to untie.”

Grandpa was a man of the sea.”

Lovely as the story is, it’s only half of the pleasure because the artwork is truly delightful. I love the detail and thought that’s gone into the book’s design – just take a look at different the front and end papers – and the double spread illustrations. The deep blue tranquillity of the sea meeting the horizon and the silhouette of the ship against the giant ball of the moon is something to remember.

Due for publication on August 29th 2019, I strongly advise you to go and get yourself a copy.

 

Terry Potter

July 2019

(Click on any image below to view them in a slide-show format)