Pea Pod Lullaby

The Australian duo created this story during a real-time gallery collaboration, a note explains. In loose pencil, colorful wash, and lyrical lines, they portray a refugee family’s journey in the gentlest possible light. King draws a mother with a babe in her arms and an older child and hound running through coils of barbed wire away from a fiery battlefield. Yet the figures’ features betray no trauma. A tiny, scruffy boat awaits them. Millard writes in the prayerful voice of a child addressing a parent, or a loved one addressing the beloved: “I am the small green pea/ you are the tender pod/ hold me.” The sail fills, and the family’s sea journey begins. “I am the drifting boat/ you are the quiet deep/ buoy me.” Their voyage never seems dangerous, and sometimes is sweetly fanciful, as when they rescue a stranded polar bear. At journey’s end, safe refuge awaits. With a story that suggests a flight from violence but does not dwell on it, adults can explain as much or as little to young readers as they are ready to hear. Ages 3–7. [em](Dec.) [/em]