The Ship in the Window

by Travis Jonker, Matthew Cordell (Illustrator)

Overview

Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell and librarian Travis Jonker have crafted a timeless tale of a little mouse and a big adventure.

Mabel the mouse wants nothing more than to be a fearless sea captain traveling the world in search of adventure. Every night she watches a man carefully construct a model ship, as his son watches by her side. Mabel and the boy know the model ship is anything but a toy, but they both long to see if it can really float. So Mabel hatches a plan to make her seafaring dreams come true.

Illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Matthew Cordell and children's librarian and reviewer Travis Jonker, The Ship in the Window celebrates the rewards of following your dreams and never losing the spirit of adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593350577
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/20/2024
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	252,324
Product dimensions:	9.38(w) x 8.88(h) x 0.43(d)
Lexile:	AD560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Travis Jonker is the author of The Very Last Castle and Blue Floats Away. When he is not writing picture books, he works as an elementary school librarian and a children's book reviewer at the blog 100 Scope Notes. He lives in Michigan.

You can visit him at TravisJonkerBooks.com.

Matthew Cordell is the author and illustrator of many celebrated picture books for children, including Wish, Explorers, and Wolf in the Snow, which was awarded the Caldecott Medal. He lives outside of Chicago with his wife, author Julie Halpern, and their two children.

You can visit him at MatthewCordell.com or follow him on Instagram @Cordell_Matthew.

Editorial Reviews

05/20/2024

In this work that follows a small ship and the beings who orbit it, Jonker (Just One Flake) introduces a man and a boy, both portrayed with light brown skin, who live in a lakefront cabin. A mouse named Mabel lives there, too. The man’s eyes are hidden by the lenses of his glasses, suggesting emotional distance, and he has for several months been working on an intricate model ship, “carefully perfecting every last detail. He wouldn’t even let the boy help.” The handsome vessel is just the right size for a mouse to sail, and Mabel is transfixed, longing to “be the brave captain.” The boy has a similar fantasy, but it’s Mabel who makes the first move one stormy night. Caldecott Medalist Cordell draws the gripping scenes that follow in sun-bleached blues and dense, delicate hatching that recalls old engravings. Mabel’s efforts bring triumph, a setback, and warm resolution as her exploits draw the three protagonists together. It’s gratifying to look on as the audacity of the story’s smallest, most vulnerable character breaks through the defenses of an intimidating adult. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Stephen Barbara, InkWell Management. Illustrator’s agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Arrr, 'tis a seaworthy tale, so set your compass toward fulfilling your dreams, and she'll not steer you wrong." —Kirkus Reviews

"Caldecott Medalist Cordell draws the gripping scenes that follow in sun-bleached blues and dense, delicate hatching that recalls old engravings." —Publishers Weekly

"Jonker taps into many children’s delight in miniatures; they will thrill along with Mabel at her adventure. Cordell’s scratchy ink and wash illustrations have a faded look, their sepias and pale blues giving the tale an old-timey feel. Sweet wish fulfillment." —The Horn Book Magazine

"With her plucky spirit and dreamy nature, Mabel would surely make a quick friend of Lobel’s Frog and Toad, and the narrative whimsy is both charming and familiar." —BCCB

From the Publisher

06/28/2024

K-Gr 2—In a tale so spare and atmospheric that it seems barely begun before it ends, the small but meticulously detailed model ship a man insists on building by himself while a boy and also a mouse named Mabel—both relegated to looking on while dreaming of voyages "free and full of wonder"—has its seaworthiness tested when a breezy night inspires the mouse to laboriously drag it down to the shore. Hardly have the man and boy, who both have tan skin and dark hair, rushed out to spot the missing ship sailing past than it hits a rock—which leads first to a double rescue, and then to the man's realization that he has companions now to share the repair work (and perhaps the dream, though the terse narrative never takes his point of view until the very end). The initially closed-off adult seems to be the central figure here since he's the only one who is changed by the episode, and as the proportions of mouse and boat alter repeatedly. The two humans seem to float over the water rather than wade in, as shown in Caldecott winner Cordell's finely hatched illustrations that have a misty, metaphorical cast. Still, the measured mix of visual and verbal narrative will draw in younger readers, and who doesn't enjoy joining an intrepid mouse on a seagoing adventure? VERDICT Introspective readers will join Mabel and the unnamed boy in dreams of distant wonders, but the nuances here may sail over younger audiences' heads. Purchase where books by Jonker and Cordell are in demand.—John Edward Peters

School Library Journal

2024-05-04
A simple ship yields a (relatively) big adventure in this classically told tale.

In a little cabin on a little lake, there lives a mouse named Mabel, a boy, and a man. The man constructs a very special model ship. “He wouldn’t even let the boy help.” Every night when she looks at it, Mabel wonders if the ship is seaworthy. She lets herself dream of piloting it through seas both rough and calm, “free and full of wonder.” When an opportunity presents itself, Mabel hesitates but reasons that the chance may never come again. Readers will be relieved to find that the ship does indeed float, but when the ship meets with tragedy, both Mabel and the man will need to find a solution. Jonker cleverly juxtaposes the mouse’s character arc alongside that of the grown man. Whereas Mabel must summon the courage to live her dreams, the man must overcome his fear of letting other people help him with his own. Cordell, meanwhile, outlines panels with rope, then fills his images to the brim with a busy cross-hatching technique that gives the book a timeless feel. Both boy and man in the book have light-brown skin.

Arrr, ’tis a seaworthy tale, so set your compass toward fulfilling your dreams, and she’ll not steer you wrong. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews