A Sea-Wishing Day.

Gregory Bryan is a member of the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

What young child has not dreamed of sailing the high seas and battling with pirates over possession of a chest filled with treasure? Certainly, Robert Heidbreder and Kady MacDonald Denton must have enjoyed such dreams when they were children. In their new collaboration, A Sea-Wishing Day, Heidbreder and Denton evoke images true to the spirit of energy and adventure with which most children are blessed. In A Sea-Wishing Day, an unnamed child and their pet dog, Skipper, set sail on an imaginative and imaginary sea journey from their own backyard.

Heidbreder’s skilful use of language and Denton’s colourful gouache paintings ensure this book will be popular with young readers. Heidbreder and Denton achieve the right balance of playfulness and drama as they share their story of the child who “wished so hard / To sail the sea / That the sea / Sailed right to me!” Whether battling pirates, a rogue wave, a sleepy crocodile, or a nine-headed sea creature, there is an undeniable sense of mischievous, tongue-in-cheek playfulness for which Heidbreder is so well-known.

A Sea-Wishing Day is the type of book that has me wishing for my own childhood imagination and the carefree abandon with which it endowed me. Young children will enjoy hearing this book and their parents will enjoy sharing it. Recommended.