Our Islands

OUR ISLANDS is a sweet story of friendship and home. Bear lives on an island, and it is the only home he knows. One day, when he is out swimming, a storm comes and he is swept out to sea. He finds himself on a distant shore away from home and meets Isla, a little girl who helps him find his island home. They visit many places together, which are not his home, before finding their way to his island. However, it does not quite feel like home anymore. Bear finds that feeling when he finds Isla again.

What I loved: This is a sweet picture book about friends and found family. Bear and Isla soon become good friends as they travel, and being apart feels hard. The messages of friendship and love making a home are strong and one that young readers can empathize with. Even if the location changes, it can always feel like home when loved ones are near.

The text itself is fairly short with only a few sentences at most on each page. This makes the pages turn fast and allow the pictures to tell much of the story. The illustrations are lovely, capturing a lot of details along their journey and experiences. The use of color and texture feels unique and complements the story well.

The end of the story is lovely and feels well-told. This would appeal to a wide range of picture book lovers all the way from toddlers and up.

Final verdict: OUR ISLANDS is a lovely picture book about friendship and home, gently told with sweeping illustrations. Highly recommend picking this one up!

Contemplative and surreally beautiful. Bear loves his island and all of the quiet things he does there. When a storm washes him away to a strange new place, he meets a girl named Isla, and together the duo adventure to return Bear to his home. Along the way, they discover many wondrous things, most of all the steady friendship between them.

A bear and a girl go on adventure. I love the simple storytelling, that includes a sentence or two on each page and lots of space to enjoy the illustrations. As they go from island to island, there's sweet moments on the waves, encounters with puffins and picnics with otters, all of these encounters examples of animals enjoying their unique homes. Everywhere is lovely, but not right for Bear, until at last they find the right island. In the end, Bear and Isla have gained the joy of homecoming, and a new, unexpected friendship.

Pick this up for fans of The Best Nest, quiet, inquisitive bears, and little girls who are excited to help those in need and see what's beyond the horizon.

The Best Nest