Return

By Author / Illustrator

Aaron Becker, Aaron Becker

Genre

Adventure

Publisher

Walker Books Ltd

ISBN

9781406368437

Format

Hardback

Published

04-08-2016

Synopsis

The eagerly-anticipated finale of Aaron Becker's wordless trilogy - a spectacular, suspenseful and moving story that brings its adventurer home.

Aaron Becker, creator of the award-winning Journey and its stunning, celebrated sequel, Quest, presents the final chapter in his luminous, wordless fantasy. Failing to get the attention of her busy father, a lonely girl turns back to a fantastic world for friendship and adventure. It's her third journey into the enticing realm of kings and emperors, castles and canals, exotic creatures and enchanting landscapes. But this time, it will take something truly powerful to persuade her to return home, as a gripping backstory is revealed that will hold readers in its thrall.

Reviews

Readers may be aware of Aaron Beckers wordless picture books - Journey & Quest; the series becomes a trilogy with the addition of the newly released book Return. In his first book Journey, we are introduced to a seemingly ordinary young girl, with an extraordinary magical red crayon. She has her heart set on adventure and her crayon enables her to escape her dull and lonely life to a magical world of possibilities. Her journey takes her from forest, to river, to magical kingdom and finally into the air as she seeks to help a new friend and return home. In the second book Quest, our young adventurer finds a kindred spirit and together our heroes embark on a colourful quest. Using their unique magical crayons to illustrate their way through the dangers they encounter, they save the day the day by rescuing the kingdom's captured king. The latest book in the trilogy is Return and our young adventurers'father joins the excitement of another perilous journey. At first, our red crayon-loving explorer is reluctant to have her dad join the excitement but she soon releases that his artistic abilities are needed - to save them from the most dangerous adventure yet. Working together as a father/daughter team they face evil knights, soar through the air on a griffin, evade capture on a submarine and work together to create a sparklingly colourful happy ever after. Becker's trilogy of books demonstrate the power of pictures in story telling. Sometimes you just don't need the words! Readers are free to tell their own story exploring character, setting and plot. The pictures pull the reader into the action of the story, encouraging a closer look. Questions requiring the reader to use inference and prediction skills flow naturally - what's happening? How are they feeling? What will happen next? What would you draw? Readers could explore additional scenes or even story endings, exploring vocabulary as they describe what additional adventures the characters might experience. This beautiful series of books would be an asset on the shelves of any classroom; a visual feast that encourages the reader to engage and explore an epic story in a very personal way. 40 pages / Ages 6+ / Reviewed by Emily Beale, school librarian.