posted on 08 Jun 2020

Isle of You by David LaRochelle, illustrated by Jaime Kim

I bought this picture book some time ago, initially charmed by the unusual colour palette and the clever punning title. I had a closer look at it recently and realised that it is a story about the power of imagination and also falls into the ‘helping children with anxiety’ genre that has been highlighted as a result of the Covid 19 virus.

The cover shows a child wearing sombre coloured clothes looking across some water towards an enticing Disney-like palace on the other side.  The calm magical landscape is suffused with pinks, mauves and soft blues that are reflected in the sky and the water. The first page shows us a sideways perspective of the same child sitting on his bed clutching his pillow with a large toy polar bear sitting on the floor with a box of toys. Deep blue colours dominate this time with minimal text on the facing page:

‘Was it a hard day?

Are you feeling sad?

Lonely?

Maybe even a little angry’?

Then some kind of dreamy invitation from a ray of pink light shining down from above encourages him to look for ‘the perfect place to go’ across the way and the curious adventure begins. It seems that The Isle of You is somewhere that will allow him to leave all his worries behind. A friendly elephant is waiting in a boat and he becomes the guiding voice as they come closer to the welcoming committee on the island. There it seems that he can do anything that he wants to do – whether it be to swim in a waterfall, climb a mountain, ride on the back of a friendly eagle or spend time dressing up in a range of wonderful costumes.

I enjoyed the way in which the child becomes central to the whole place as he is shown blissfully enjoying polar bears entertaining him on roller skates and then sitting with his friends at a truly scrumptious looking feast of cakes and sweets. The lovely experience finishes with starfish watching on the beach and then a moonlit ride in one of the many balloons. Before he sets off back home he has a reassuring cuddle with the crowd of polar bears who tell him:

‘Someone loves you very, very, very much’.

He is shown on the last page sleeping soundly in his bed as his toy polar bear turns to look at him.

As I read and enjoyed this beautiful picture book I was reminded of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak with Max embarking on his famous sea adventure to a safe but strange world where he was able to be completely in charge of some initially scary looking creatures. He also comes to realise that home is where he wants to return to where he knows that, despite being cross with him at the beginning of the story, his mother shows him unconditional love. This book is not as profound or complex, but it gets the message across powerfully. I can imagine that lots of anxious children would find some comfort and reassurance in the pictures and be inspired to imagine what they would like to do to make them feel better when they feel sad.  

Karen Argent

June 2020

(click on any image to view them in a slide show format)