A ROCK IN THE OCEAN

Clearly, a little poop and a lot of water can’t come between friends destined to be together.

When Mila, an adventurous seal, finds the perfect lounging rock, she climbs to the top of her new haven. “Everything looked so much smaller from up there, and that made her feel very big,” at least until a gigantic ocean liner sails past. After being lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves, she is rudely awakened by Charlie the sea gull, who accidentally poops on her head. Both burst out laughing, and a new friendship begins. After Charlie goes home, Mila is scared by a big storm that sweeps her into the turbulent ocean. Luckily, Mila’s hat, a present from Charlie, goes “sailing off on the wind…almost like a distress signal or a cry for help” that Charlie notices. Charlie searches and finally finds Mila hidden in a shipwrecked boat on the rock where they first met. The message is clear: “From that day on, their friendship was even bigger than the biggest ship, and even stronger than the storm.” Illustrations bring Mila and Charlie to life with facial expressions that display their joy at meeting, sadness and concern at being separated, and relief at being reunited. The palette—which uses a mix of playful blue, stormy gray and black, and rose and lavender—also underscores the emotional arc of this poignant story, translated from Italian. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A rock-solid tale of friendship.