A simple ship yields a (relatively) big adventure in this classically told tale.In a little cabin on a little lake, there lives a mouse named Mabel, a boy, and a man. The man constructs a very special model ship. "He wouldn't even let the boy help." Every night when she looks at it, Mabel wonders if the ship is seaworthy. She lets herself dream of piloting it through seas both rough and calm, "free and full of wonder." When an opportunity presents itself, Mabel hesitates but reasons that the chance may never come again. Readers will be relieved to find that the ship does indeed float, but when the ship meets with tragedy, both Mabel and the man will need to find a solution. Jonker cleverly juxtaposes the mouse's character arc alongside that of the grown man. Whereas Mabel must summon the courage to live her dreams, the man must overcome his fear of letting other people help him with his own. Cordell, meanwhile, outlines panels with rope, then fills his images to the brim with a busy cross-hatching technique that gives the book a timeless feel. Both boy and man in the book have light-brown skin.Arrr, 'tis a seaworthy tale, so set your compass toward fulfilling your dreams, and she'll not steer you wrong. (Picture book. 3-6)

K-Gr 2 —In a tale so spare and atmospheric that it seems barely begun before it ends, the small but meticulously detailed model ship a man insists on building by himself while a boy and also a mouse named Mabel—both relegated to looking on while dreaming of voyages "free and full of wonder"—has its seaworthiness tested when a breezy night inspires the mouse to laboriously drag it down to the shore. Hardly have the man and boy, who both have tan skin and dark hair, rushed out to spot the missing ship sailing past than it hits a rock—which leads first to a double rescue, and then to the man's realization that he has companions now to share the repair work (and perhaps the dream, though the terse narrative never takes his point of view until the very end). The initially closed-off adult seems to be the central figure here since he's the only one who is changed by the episode, and as the proportions of mouse and boat alter repeatedly. The two humans seem to float over the water rather than wade in, as shown in Caldecott winner Cordell's finely hatched illustrations that have a misty, metaphorical cast. Still, the measured mix of visual and verbal narrative will draw in younger readers, and who doesn't enjoy joining an intrepid mouse on a seagoing adventure? VERDICT Introspective readers will join Mabel and the unnamed boy in dreams of distant wonders, but the nuances here may sail over younger audiences' heads. Purchase where books by Jonker and Cordell are in demand.—John Edward Peters