The illustrations of this book are absolutely amazing. They look layered on the page. That part of the book I greatly enjoyed, I did enjoy the homophone idea and concept of the book, however this would be a picture book for the older end of children that read picture books. That is because the concept is a difficult one for younger children to understand. Though it would still be a good book to expose younger children to the idea of homophones,

I, Sea by Suzanne Sutherland is a great book to open up a lesson on homophones. It does have the same homophones repeated, but there is so much you can do with this book as a topic starter.

Thank you to NetGalley and OwlKids Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review. I think that this one is a great addition to a lesson on homophones and will be using it soon.

In a Nutshell: Doesn’t fulfil the promised potential. But has gorgeous artwork.

Through the experiences of a pirate tabby cat and his first-mate crab, we see varied situations where the titular homonyms are used. The ending turns the tale on its head, revealing it to be a child’s bath-time fun story.

The varied contexts in which the homonyms are used is quite clever, and works for the intent. I also appreciate the introductory note that explains the meaning of the word ‘homonym.’

The art style is quite unusual. All illustrations appear like cut-paper collage work, giving a unique appearance to every page. I am sure the physical copy will bring out the effect of the style even more.

But…

The story is supposed to be an exploration of homonyms – words that sound the same or are spelt the same, but mean different things. However, the entire book worked on only two homonym pairs: variants of I/Eye and sea/see. Having only two sounds throughout the book makes the plot (if I can call it that) somewhat repetitive.

Here’s the dilemma. The approach being so overly simplistic means that it won’t be a hit with older kids – they might find the book boring. However, the theme being based on words and spellings means that it won’t be a hit with younger kids as well – they might find the book difficult. So whom do I recommend it to?

I guess little ones could pick this up for a basic lesson on homonyms and for some outstanding artwork. It might work better in schools, where group discussion about the two homonym pairs will surely enliven the otherwise straightforward writing.

3 stars.

My thanks to Owlkids Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “I, Sea”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

3.7 Stars

I, Sea is a short book where a teeny story about a pirate is told using two homonyms, I and Sea. I really like the concept of the book and its presentation. As an adult, it is fun to guess which words would be used next and how the story will go ahead. I’m not too sure if little ones will be that interested in the concept.
The book should work better for slightly older kids, though they might want something more than variations of just two sounds. However…
The illustrations are wonderful. I don’t know what the style is called but it is absolutely amazing. I’ve been imagining how the illustrations would pop out in the physical copy and have different textures to suit the storyline.
Each page looks like it has colored art paper cut into shapes and glued in layers to create a textured feeling. So you have pictures that stand out in 3D (with soft shadows on the sides) and look like a perfectly done school project.
The color scheme is bright, cheerful, and vibrant. I could go through the book just to trace the detailing on each page. The tiger (kitty) has a crab, maybe as a pet or friend, and that little crab manages to give several expressions over the pages. How cool is that?
We also have a doctor elephant (a darling) and some aquatic animals flaunting their colors toward the end.

To summarize, I, Sea has a cool concept (from an adult perspective) and some wow illustrations you have to see. Grab this book for those pictures (I hope the physical copy has textured pages).
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Owlkids Books and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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Links to Goodreads and Amazon reviews will be uploaded after the publishing date.

Adorably illustrated but missed the mark for my kindergarten kiddo.

This was lovely to look at, but my kiddo didn’t really understand the content fully. It might be better for an older child but in that case the illustrations/design might not match up with the level because it does seem to be for young children.

I was excited to read this book until I realized it was just the title words in different homonyms. I thought it was going to be something more story based.

What a wonderful learning book for children. Beautiful illustrations that help tell the story and teach the kids about homophones. This is a good book to add to your learning library. Kids will enjoy reading it and having it read to them. It's always fun to learn new things.

The art in this book is absolutely stunning! Once I finished reading I had to go back and flip through just to enjoy the vibrant colors and lively energy on each page. The concept is neat and could spark a good conversation with kids about homonyms, but I had expected there to be more variety in the text, instead of just working with variations of two words. Still, this would be an engaging and fun read to help reinforce the concepts of homonyms and creative expression.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

This picture book plays with the homonyms eye and I and sea and see. The artwork for the illustrations is phenomenal, and would be a great inspiration for children to create mix-media art. The idea of using it to teach homonyms is interesting, I wish it included a few more. The only text is the 4 words mentioned above, so there is not a lot of context or language, but the reader definitely needs to use skills like inferring and being flexible with language. I'm not sure which grade this book would be best suited for, maybe Kindergarten and preschool. I could see it being in school libraries. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.

What is a homonym anyway?

It is a noun: each of two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings and origins. I, Sea: A Tale of Homonyms is a playful tale about homonyms and the power of perspective.

I love playful language and this book with Ashley Barron's beautiful icon cut-paper collage artwork brings the words visually to life.

A piratical tabby is having an adventure on the sea when --"Eye! Sea!"-- a wave crashes against the ship and something gets lodged in the captain's eye. He and his first mate visit an optometrist and during his eye exam the cat reads out the letters I and C. The eye doctor responds, "Eye See?".

He then proceeds to teach the tabby how to put on an eyepatch. After the eyepatch is put in place they both say "Aye! Sea!" It is revealed to the reader at the end of the book that the whole story is part of a child's bathtub playtime.

Sharing the book will introduce kids to homonyms and how fun and imaginative our language can be. A delightful educational book to share together. Bye (buy, by) for now!