Ocean Wide, Ocean Deep

by: Susan Lendroth; Illustrated by Raul Allen

Published by: Tricycle Press

Reviewed by Andrea Sisco

Ocean Wide, Ocean Deep is the story of a young girl whose father has sailed away for more than a year. He is working for the China Trade. You watch, with the young girl, as the seasons pass. Her baby brother begins to walk; there are storms, and a lonesome mother and girl who wonder about her father’s adventures. And she wonders if he is thinking of her.

While the book is set in the nineteenth-century, it is timeless. Even today children have parents far away, fighting in other lands. And even in the present day, children are concerned, lonesome and mark the passage of time with the daily things that surround them.

Ocean Wide, Ocean Deep is a thoughtful story of love that seeks to limit the distance when people are apart. It also is a helpful resource for parents who must explain a temporary absence.

Allen’s illustrations are life-like, charming and capture the story in an inviting yet intimate manner.

Armchair Interviews says: A must read.

Author’s Web site: http://www.RRAllen.com