Vincent Comes Home

by Jessixa Bagley, Aaron Bagley, Jessixa Bagley (Illustrator), Aaron Bagley (Illustrator)

Overview

Jessixa Bagley, author and illustrator of Laundry Day, Before I Leave, and Boats For Papa (winner of the 2016 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for best picture book text) and Aaron Bagley (illustrator of Rocking Fatherhood) have been drawing and writing together since they met in art school more than a decade ago. What started off as a courtship of doodling in sketchbooks and belching in lockers soon turned into a marriage of doodling in sketchbooks and belching with their son.

Their artistic partnership is a balanced collaboration of overlapping their individual styles and painting techniques—creating one cohesive language. Vincent Comes Home is their first picture book together. And much like Vincent, they have moved around a lot but their home has always been each other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626727809
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	02/13/2018
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	11.35(w) x 8.89(h) x 0.46(d)
Age Range:	4 - 6 Years

About the Author

Jessixa Bagley, author and illustrator of Laundry Day, Before I Leave, and Boats For Papa (winner of the 2016 SCBWI Golden Kite Award for best picture book text) and Aaron Bagley (illustrator of Rocking Fatherhood) have been drawing and writing together since they met in art school more than a decade ago. What started off as a courtship of doodling in sketchbooks and belching in lockers soon turned into a marriage of doodling in sketchbooks and belching with their son.

Their artistic partnership is a balanced collaboration of overlapping their individual styles and painting techniques—creating one cohesive language. Vincent Comes Home is their first picture book together. And much like Vincent, they have moved around a lot but their home has always been each other.

Editorial Reviews

12/11/2017
Spouses Jessixa Bagley (Boats for Papa) and Aaron Bagley (Rocking Fatherhood) collaborate on a story set on a container ship that sails the world’s oceans. “I can’t wait to get home,” says the first mate. “Whenever I go home, I never want to leave,” adds the cook. “Where is this Home place?” wonders Vincent, the freighter’s cat. Vincent soon understands, when the ship docks and he follows the sailors to their houses, watching as their loved ones greet them. “Home is where the people who love you are,” Vincent realizes. Maybe he doesn’t have a home, he worries—until the freighter’s concerned captain finds him and brings him to back to the ship (cleverly named the Domus). The Bagleys’ pen-and-watercolor spreads offer all kinds of visual information: views of Vincent’s changing emotions, portraits of the crew members, and sweeping vistas of coastal scenery. Families and homes don’t all look alike, the Bagleys conclude, but they are equally valuable. A bonus: setting this domestically focused tale aboard a ship draws transport-loving readers into conversations about the inner lives of the people who make them go. Ages 4–6. Agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

2017-11-22
A seafaring cat learns the meaning of home.Vincent, an orange cat with wide eyes, is capable of complex thought but not otherwise anthropomorphized. He enjoys life aboard a cargo vessel but is curious about the sailors' oft-voiced longing for "home." So he decides to follow one of them off the ship so that he can find out just where Home is and what all the fuss is about. The Bagleys include subtle visual clues that although he's unaware of it, Vincent has a fine home already. From the name of the ship (Domus) to the appearance of the cheerfully whistling white captain in the background to Vincent's admission that the captain's cabin is his "favorite place," the evidence suggests that if "Home is where the people who love you are," then Vincent need search no longer. As in previous titles, an idea that could come across as saccharine benefits from a straightforward text and matter-of-fact tone. The expansive setting allows for a range of engaging scenes, from a charmingly old-fashioned-looking world map to hillside towns, tropical islands, icy landscapes, and starry nights at sea. Realistic pen-and-watercolor illustrations vary in size and placement and effectively combine soft textures and crisp lines.This quiet exploration will leave readers and listeners with a cozy sense of connection and belonging while also acknowledging the thrill of new vistas. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews