[Note: this is a children's book, but I wouldn't let that put you off]

Loved this book - an existential comedy, for inquisitive, imaginative kids. A very simple concept - which is summed up exactly by the title. The plot is fairly (deliberately) slight, but through the tribulations he and the bear suffer, it you see the boy maturing and learning to appreciate the important things. I thought Shelton judged this just beautifully - sometimes I thought things would work out a bit too conveniently, but he subverted my expectations well.

Also, this is a beautiful - and beautifully understated - edition of the book. The cover is lovely, like a solid, well-loved, travelling notebook. The corners have been artfully distressed, to give it just the right degree of batteredness. The binding and dimensions make it a lovely, tactile object. Also Shelton's illustrations are very nicely done - fun and evocative, with a very nicely restrained pallet, which helps just make the book feel like a beautifully realised, singular whole.

( )

This is one of the slowest, least interesting, most boring kids' books I've read. Those attributes are even more pronounced and disappointing because the cover leads one to expect an exciting adventure. The illustrations are excellent, and I would love to read a picture book by Shelton, but I don't think I'll be recommending his novel to anyone. It felt much like a text you'd be required to read for a college philosophy class, not like a novel aimed at middle schoolers... and it held my attention about as well as my college philosophy texts did, which is to say not very well. As for the ending, or lack thereof -- while I myself prefer happy endings, I know some stories can't end happily. However, I think every story should at least have a resolution of SOME kind, especially a story for kids.

I appreciate that Shelton experimented with something outside the norm in this, but this type of book would probably work better for adult fiction, or even YA, than for the middle-school demographic. ( )

Read this one aloud to Iz. He got it for me for my birthday because the Bear the plays the Ukulele. It ended up being a pretty great read. Boy and Bear's relationship is so good. In the end you don't mind that they don't get anywhere. ( )

I like this book because when they are lost, they come across huge waves, sea monsters and end up stranded in islands. ( )

Existential adventure for middle grade readers. For those not yet ready for Life of Pi. ( )