Reviews Young Readers Reviews #73 Fall 2013 ,
You and me, we’re like Newfoundland weather
When the wet and dreary weather of his beloved Newfoundland home become too much for Yaffle the plucky seagull, he decides he’s going to have to head south in search of warmer climes. But how can he just up and leave behind his friends and all of his favourite things? With a sudden burst of inspiration, he concludes that he doesn’t have to: He can simply take Newfoundland with him! Soon the little seagull learns that the weather is an intrinsic part of Newfoundland’s very identity; there is no escaping it.
While many readers will identify with Yaffle’s frustration with his homeland’s climate, they will also appreciate that the weather is part of the very fabric of Newfoundland, and it is worth enduring in exchange for the province’s many other charms. An appealing story, it would perhaps have worked better in straight prose. Written in verse, the rhythm falters at times, and lines frequently sound forced. The coloured pencil illustrations are bright and lively, full of energy and whimsy. They capture the playful tone of the story and will delight the story’s young audience.
Yaffle’s Journey
by Nancy Keating, illustrated by Laurel Keating & Nancy Keating,
$12.95, paperback, 32 pp.
Tuckamore Books, May 2013
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