The lighthouse on the cover immediately draws you in, for who doesn’t love the romanticism of a tall tower by the sea, its light saving lives, while its workers live in stark isolation on the cusp of the coast? A lone figure stands atop the tower on a moonlight night; it turns out this is a child, Ren, who we next find asleep in bed, dreaming.
The prose builds in the manner of The House That Jack Built:
This is the whisper in Ren’s dream.
This is the wind
that carries the whisper
from Ren’s dream.
These are the waves
that dance in the breeze
that carries the whisper
from Ren’s dream
The watercolour illustrations are absolutely stunning and evocative, perfectly matching the tone for this book, which imagines a child’s wish being carried over the ocean by various forces and inhabitants of nature. The story ends on a heartwarming note, with Ren’s sailor mother receiving the wish, and returning home to be reunited with her child.
Reviewer: Stacey Anyan
Allen & Unwin