Garbage Gulls

On a hot summer day that feels like its lasted forever, two brothers stretch out in the back seat of an abandoned car in a strip-mall parking lot. They pass the time thinking up another place, scattering ketchup-soaked fries around their whale of a car to attract the garbage gulls. They have to leave just the right amount, the older boy tells the younger, so enough gulls will come. Enough to lift them up in their tangle of wings and take them to the sea.

Lyrical text by Dorson Plourde and expressive art by Isabella Fassler – two debut creators – combine to perfectly capture the mood of a languid summer day. Without access to a beach or summer camp, with only fries and colas and a stretch of asphalt, the brothers dream themselves to the sea the only way they can – through their shared imagination. This evocative picture book is sure to transport children through the clouds to the imagined delights beyond.

32 pages. Written by Dorson Plourde & illustrated by Isabella Fassler. Recommended for ages 4 to 8.