CALEB'S FRIEND

When Caleb drops his beloved harmonica overboard, it's returned by a pale, lank-haired, monochromatic boy—a sea creature whose elegant fish tail can be seen when he turns a joyous somersault, and who reappears when Caleb plays the harmonica again. Though the boy doesn't understand Caleb's words, he's delighted with the rose Caleb gives him, and the two become friends. But to the other fishermen, the sea lad is a spectacle to be sold. After he's captured and put on exhibit, Caleb rescues him; they exchange gifts once again before the boy disappears, never to be forgotten. Almost more a mood piece than a story, the quietly elegiac text and enigmatic tone are perfectly in harmony with skillfully rendered art that echoes Van Allsburg with its sculptural forms, studied compositions, and theatrical use of light and the sea's glassy, rhythmic surface. Handsomely wrought, but a bit ponderous with significance. (Picture book. 5-10)