In spare prose and gorgeous collage illustrations, Philip Christian Stead (who wrote the text of the Caldecott Medal–winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee) hones in on the emotional connection between a boy and his teddy bear. Stead quickly establishes the bond between Jonathan and his teddy bear, Frederick, as the boy holds him up to see the Big Blue Boat anchored in the harbor. "It makes me feel very small," he tells Frederick. The giant vessel pulses in a swirl of sapphire and cornflower blues comprised of torn paper and postage stamps. But soon after, Jonathan's parents tell him they have traded Frederick for a toaster. "You're getting too old for a stuffed animal," they say.
As the boy starts his search for his bear, his singleness of purpose points the way to each phase of his journey. When Jonathan explains to the tugboat captain, "Frederick is missing," the man tugs the Big Blue Boat "into the open ocean." Each event builds on the cumulative refrain: "And that is how Jonathan came to sail the sea on a Big Blue Boat." When the boat gets marooned, a mountain goat helps and gets added to the refrain. Everyone aids the hero in accomplishing his mission. Stead seems to say that as long as we follow our true North, everything falls in line. Jonathan reminds children that our Fredericks don't hold us back, they help us grow up with confidence. And there's no rush. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness