A beautiful book about love. In this lovely intergenerational story, Ingrid Chabbert and Guridi, a boy wants to make his grandmother's dreams come true by bringing her the sea. She is too old to go herself so he determinedly makes the long journey to the sea to bring some home to her.

A beautiful book set in a beautiful location. Many children will see themselves reflected in this story. Their love for their grandparents and the special bond between grandparent and grandchild. Many will also see the places of their birth or the places of their ancestry reflected in the story.

With simple yet beautiful illustrations, this is a lovely book to share with any child.

I loved this story! So sweet! It's a wonderful story of a little boy who lived with his very old great-grandmother. Her one regret was that she never saw the ocean (two days walk) and was now too old to make the journey. Her great-grandson, a little boy, walks the distance for her and brings back the gift of water from the sea for her. What a wonderful, touching gift. brought tears to my eyes.

This is a lovely book about a boy's love for his great-grandmother and how he can help her achieve her goals. Since adults are usually helping children, reading about a child helping an adult is thought-provoking. Even children can be helpful, using their skill sets. Of course, in real life no child should walk three days in a desert alone, but this story is not real life. I was anxious at the end to see whether all the water had evaporated and what the two characters would say and do. I liked this ending a lot!

What a wonderful story! I am completely mesmerized by it. Ali and his great-grandmother live in the desert, looking at the sky every night together. Ali realizes that his great-grandmother is getting old, and so one day, he asks him if all of her dreams have been fulfilled. "Every single one", answers the great-grandmother, "except one!" And from there starts a journey of friendship and solidarity like nothing I've read before.

The illustrations are stunning, a melange of minimalism and beautiful patterns. The narration is flowing and extremely pleasant to read. I highly recommend this story of the love between a boy and his great-grandmother.

This almost folktale like story is a sweet concept, but it should not be read as anything but that. No way would a child walk three days in the desert to being a bucket of sea water to his grandmother.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4643" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Screen-Shot-2018-10-18-at-10.40.59-PM.png" alt="" />

But, once it as read as simply a folk tale, it is sweet, and not child abuse, or anything unusual to see here.

The concept is that the grandmother is too old to walk to the sea, which is three days away. So the young boy, goes off to bring her a pale of sea water. But it was so hot, that most of it evaporated.

Might be good for libraries, for diversity, but did not find it a good book to reread serveral times.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

The prose is spare but evocative, a good match for the landscape, and the storytelling, while swift, lingers when it needs to. Ali's selflessness feels believable as well, grounded in his kindred connection to his great-grandmother. I think kids with beloved grandparents / great-grandparents could really enjoy.

"Great-grandma, have all of your dreams come true?" Ali asks one day. To which Great-grandma replies that she's always dreamed of seeing the sea, but never managed it and now she's too old and weak to make the four-day round trip. When Ali sees how sad she is, he is determined to make the journey by himself and bring the sea to her.

This book is beautifully rich in meaning. It shows the lengths that a young child will go to for his beloved great-grandma and the reader feels how much love they have for each other.

The simple, cartoon-style illustrations lend the book an almost otherworldly feel. While I would have liked more cultural details, the desert setting also introduces children to a different landscape and lifestyle than the usual forests and farmyards of many picture books.

Illustration / art work is simple and good (but you never see the boy's face). Story is ridiculous, unnecessary and pointless.

Still, thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

What would you do to make someone's dream come true? Ali would do anything for his great-grandmother. One day Ali realizes that his great-grandmother is getting older and she will not be around forever, so he asks her if all of her dreams have been met in her life. She replies all except one; she has never been to the sea.

This picture book reminded me of my grandmother, living in Illinois all of her life; she never was able to see the ocean nor the mountains. When she died, I was saddened that she never had the opportunity to experience these things that filled my life growing up in Washington.

The illustrations are simple. The ground changes from a piece of notebook paper to a geography map and then to a star map; based on the occurances of the story. This visual is a small but significant addition to the story.

From the Publisher: Ali lives with his great-grandmother in a tiny clay house at the edge of the desert. The much-loved duo Ingrid Chabbert and Guridi have created a gorgeous intergenerational tale about devotion and dreams coming true at any age. The love Ali feels for his great-grandmother is universal, and children everywhere will recognize their own best selves in Ali's heroic act of kindness. With the makings of a classic, this is one of those quiet stories that will stay with readers, young and old, long after they've put it down. Set in North Africa, it would make an excellent choice for a social studies lesson on exploring global cultures. It also works perfectly for character education lessons on compassion or courage.

I would like to thank Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I read this book as a part of my #BookaDay Reading Challenge, inspired by Donalyn Miller. My goal is to read at least one children's literature book every weekday and share my thoughts here on my blog. Please feel free to subscribe or connect with me on social media to follow my journey through the books I read. Until next time ...

A poignant book that deals with aging, death, and lifelong dreams. A wonderful read for any library.

For such a small book, this had a lot of emotion in it! About a young boy who wants nothing other than to help make his grandmothers dream come true. Filled with beautiful script, and adorable illustrations. This book is sure to be a favorite at story time!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book and exchange for an honest review. I really appreciate it.

Tearjerker alert! But in the best way. Ali’s worried about his great grandmother. She is so old and frail. He asks if all of her dreams came true. When she says all but one, Ali is determined to help make that dream a reality. Such a lovely and heart warming story. It’s simple in the best way possible. Plus the illustrations….amazing and they match so well to the story. The illustration of great-grandmother just invokes an every grandma feel that makes me miss mine soooooo much. A wonderful story that hopefully earns lots of awards.

A Drop of the Sea is a sweet and loving book about the bond between a young boy and his Great-grandma. Ali knows his Great-grandma is getting older and only wants to see her smile again! Ali is a little boy who would walk to the ends of the earth to make his Great-grandma happy! Being such, Ali goes on a journey to do just that! A story of determination, dedication and unconditional love! Reading this story will make your heart swell and by the end you are sure to experience such a rushed of emotions!

At first glance it would appear that the amazing illustrations would be the star of this book, but the tender story is not at all subdued by the imaginative drawings.. Recognizing the impressive feat of living a long life, a boy asks his great-grandmother if all of her dreams have come true. She tells him the dreams she dreamt as a girl and the dreams she dreamt as a woman have all come true except for one. The boy sets out to make his great-grandmother's one remaining dream come true.

Ali makes it his mission to fulfill his great grandmother's wish to visit the sea. He spends four days traveling to bring her a drop of the sea.

This would be a good discussion book. I feel like there are things in this story that could really spark some life lessons about dreams, fulfillment, helping others, and bravery.

This book is lovely and deals with themes of kindness, empathy, and storytelling. A grandmother wishes to see the sea and a boy brings the sea to her.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book about a little boy trying to fulfill his great grandmother's wish of seeing the sea before she dies. The pictures were unique and the story was touching. It gave a good view to how the life of a child in another part of the world is different from ours.

Very heartfelt book about a grandson helping his grandma do the one thing she never got to do. Teachers, librarians, and parents will loving reading this book to kids and talking about how even the littlest gesture can make someone's day.

A young boy who lives with his great grandmother goes in a journey to find the ocean to bring some of it back to her since that is the only dream she has not fulfilled in her life.

A charming story full of love between a boy and his great grandmother. The illustrations and story will touch readers and remind them to take care of those they love most.