Winter & George: A Path Across the Sea

By: Natasha Nelson
Illustrated by: Lee Fitzgerald
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Publication Date: March 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1639882359
Reviewed by: Holly Connors
Review Date: March 10, 2022

A wild adventure awaits two children that will take them on a path along the sea, up to the stars and then safely home again in debut author Natasha Nelson's children's book, Winter & George: A Path Across the Sea.

Two siblings, Winter and George, are enjoying an evening sitting on a pier, watching the stars when suddenly the moon pokes out at them. It's low on the horizon, appearing as if it's rising from the other end of the sea. But then something amazing happens - the light from the moon creates a bright white path along the top of the water from the moon all the way to Winter and George. The two children are amazed, and George is super excited to try and walk along the path. His younger sister Winter, however, isn't convinced that it's safe but with a bit of convincing, she agrees to try walking on the incredible path.

When Winter finally gains the confidence to open her eyes (that she tightly closed as she stepped on the moon path), she's delighted to learn that they are safely walking along an amazing path. The path is made of "Moon Blossoms" that smell fantastic, like vanilla cupcakes. Winter picks one of the blossoms and puts it behind her ear and then the two siblings (and best friends!) continue on their journey.

The two explorers soon come to the end of the path where it tumbles downward into the darkness below. They sit at the edge of the waterfall, trying to decide what to do. As they think, two slimy tentacles reach up from the darkness below and grab them. Eeek! But this time, Winter is the brave one as she quickly realizes that the tentacles belong to a giant baby squid. She giggles in delight and names her new friend Archie. And with Archie's help, the adventure is just beginning...

Winter and George: A Path Across the Sea is a very imaginative children's story that amps the fun up to another level. The story was creative, and the action never stopped as Winter and George kept discovering additional things to explore. A moon path, swimming through the sky, and getting a mouthful of stars are just a few of the things the children experience. The author also includes a nice dose of friendship and love, with the brother and sister pair of Winter and George. It's nice to see siblings having such a nice relationship. There are a few minor grammatical issues, and quotation marks and apostrophes are very small and on some pages it's hard to distinguish between them and the tiny background stars. On one page, Archie's name changed to Archibald, and while Archie is the nickname for Archibald, this quick switch without explanation may confuse some children. That said, don't let these small issues stop you from selecting this story for the bedtime reading list as the adventure and fun that await are definitely worth it.

Quill says: Let your imagination run wild! Adventure awaits in the imaginative children's book, Winter & George: A Path Across the Sea!

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