Adrift by Heidi E. Y. Stemple, illustrated by Anastasia Suvorova
October 26, 2021
Crocodile Books, USA, an imprint of Interlink Publishing Group, Inc.
Illustrated Children’s Book • 10” x 10”
32 pages • full-color • Ages 3-12
ISBN 978-1-62371-909-8 • hardback
$17.95 ($23.95 CAD)

Finding himself alone and scared in the middle of a storm, a small mouse finds comfort and strength when he sees another boat and is joined by others. They ride out the storm together—close enough to see each other, but not close enough to crash.

In a gentle metaphor for the global pandemic, Adrift is a way to start conversations with young readers about fear, hope and being together even from afar. It was written by award-winning children’s author Heidi E. Y. Stemple while she was in lockdown missing her friends and family. Her beautiful words are brought to life by Anastasia Suvorova, who has won high acclaim for illustrating stories about nature, children, dreams, traveling, magic, hope, and kindness.

My Review

I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy from the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

A tiny mouse starts out on his own in a boat on the ocean. When a storm comes, he is scared but he meets more mice in boats who are close but far enough apart not to crash. Suddenly, he’s not so scared anymore. The more mice that are close by, the better the mouse feels. Eventually, they all end up finding land and they celebrate that they survived the storm that has now passed.

Adrift is a cute story and is a great way to start a conversation with children about the pandemic. It has to be difficult for young kids to understand what it going on and this is one good way to help them understand.

About the Author

Heidi didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published 20 books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children.
Heidi lives and writes in Massachusetts on a big old farm with two houses.

Website http://HeidiEYStemple.com
Twitter heidieys

If you pre-order your copy of Adrift before October 26th, you will receive 3 free stickers upon the publication of the book. Order 3 copies for your classroom/library (or friends!), and we’ll send you 20 stickers!