Shove Off! Yellow Kayak by Nina Laden

Fish jump.

Loons float.

Seals watch.

Little boat.

Two adventurers go down to the sea in... well, not ships, but a little yellow kayak, waving goodbye to the watcher on the hill. Seagulls squawk as they soar across a cloudy gray sky, as the breezes become winds.

Maybe the two boatmen should have checked the weather forecast!

A sudden squall blows up, with howling winds, blowing rain, and roaring thunder!

But the little kayak rides out the storm as the sun begins to set in a pink sky.

Bail boat.

Good save!

And what's this? The denizens of the deep appear around them--seals rise, an octopus floats by, and hulking whales circle around to give them a gentle nudge toward their shore.

Lighthouse beams.

Welcome paddlers.

Sweet dreams.

It's certainly no jolly journey with the Beatles on their Yellow Submarine, but author Nina Laden and
artist Melissa Castrillon nevertheless create a magical mystery tour of the wonders of the ocean, in their Yellow Kayak (Paula Wiseman Books/Simon and Schuster, 2018, in the best nautical bedtime poem since Wynken, Blynken, and Nod sailed off in their wooden shoe! Castrillon's swirling colors and flowing line add a hypnotic aura of gorgeous fantasy to this imaginative sea story, told in soft, sybillant verse. Says Kirkus Reviews,"A gentle story of calm courage and of quiet, trusting perseverance that will comfort readers in their anxious times."