The Sound of the Sea

Jacqueline Harvey (author)

Warren Crossett (illustrations)

Lothian Books, Australia: 2005

ISBN: 0734407424

Genres: picture book, realistic fiction

Issues: death, family, grief, relationships

CBCA Honour Book, Picture Book of the Year, 2006.

Sam loved going to the beach with his mother. They used to catch crabs in the rockpools and she taught him how to fish. There used to be a lot of laughter. But then Sam's mother got sick and went away and he had to move in with his grandparents. Everybody is sad but Sam is also very angry. His mother should have tried harder to stay.

Sam's grandparents do all they can to comfort him but nothing helps, until one day his grandpa takes him back to the beach. Slowly Sam comes to realise that love lasts beyond death and that his mother is still there, in the ordinary, everyday things they used to do together. Deeply moving, the story is expressed in simple, stark sentences that reflect the terrible trauma that Sam is experiencing.

Warren Crossett's superb pastel illustrations provide a richly detailed backdrop that contrasts with the emotional desert that is Sam's grief. In the faces of the characters Crossett also manages to capture, to a remarkably subtle degree, a wide range of emotions. Not only Sam's expressions of grief, anger, sulkiness, surprise and affection, but also the complex mixture of sadness and anxiety felt by his grandparents.

An absolutely outstanding illustrated story that should be shared with the whole family.