cover image Island Child

Island Child

Lisa Wallis. Dutton Books, $14 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-525-67324-8

In this nostalgic look at one girl's happy times spent growing up on an island, readers see her collecting sea glass on the beach, playing night tag with other chidren, listening all alone to the sounds of the forest. The text is written in loosely connected, first-person reveries. Because Wallis provides no introduction to her heroine, readers may have difficulty feeling the same depth of emotion that the narrator does. Also, the differences between an island childhood and that of a youngster growing up on the mainland are never explored--the uniqueness and sense of isolation that might spark this gentle story. The best of the accompanying painterly illustrations are dreamy, idealized pictures of a Hallmark-card childhood. Haeffele seems most comfortable with the landscape scenes; some of her pictures featuring multiple characters are rather stiff. This is nevertheless a book that for some will either recall or inspire island vacations. Ages 5-8. (May)