Skip to main content

Spencer and Vincent, The Jellyfish Brothers


Spencer and Vincent, The Jellyfish Brothers 
Written by Tony Johnston
Illustrated by Emily Dove
Simon and Schuster, 2019. Picture Book.

Spencer and Vincent are best friends, who just happen to be brothers. They like to swim around, drifting on the current, singing a fun song with each other. Unfortunately, one day they get separated, and in an effort to find each other again, they must enlist the help of all the other creatures in the sea. Peril and danger ensue, but the brothers use their love for each other to solve the problem.

The undersea pictures in this book are bright, fun, and swirly like the waves they’re inspired by, and the different animals are unique and exciting to look at. The turquoise of the water and the coral and pink of the brothers makes for a sweet color contrast that elevates the mood of the story into something that is carefree, like a tropical island or a bright coral reef, without distracting from its heartfelt message. The journey the brothers go on is a scary one, but their unfailing optimism keeps the book lighthearted. Spencer and Vincent are jellyfish who don’t give up on each other.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

Review: A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall By Jasmine Warga New York: Harper, 2024. Fiction. 211 pages. A painting has been stolen from the Penelope L. Brooks Museum and sixth-grader Rami Ahmed is worried he's the main suspect. His mother works at the museum as the lead custodian and Rami spends a lot of time hanging out at the museum while she works. On the day the painting went missing, the only people there were the security guard Ed, the cleaning crew, and Rami. Then, a mysterious girl appears in the museum. She floats around from room to room and only Rami can see her -- and she looks exactly like the girl from the missing painting. To prove his innocence and help figure out who the floating girl is, Rami partners up with an aspiring sleuth at school named Veda and the two dive into unexpected situations as they try to solve the mystery. This is a cozy mystery that is focused mostly on characters and ambiance and only a little on the mystery itself. Don't read this book if yo...

DISPLAY: The Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos is a lively holiday that is observed in Mexico and some other Central and South American countries each year in November. It honors and celebrates family members past and present. Celebrate Day of the Dead with Paper Crafts By Randel McGee Enslow Elementary, 2015. informational Learn to make a skull mask, a skeleton candy basket, fancy cut-paper window banners, and more as you explore the important symbols of Day of the Dead. Day of the Dead  By Linda Lowery Carolrhoda Books, 2004. Informational This colorful informational book introduces the holiday, Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, and describes how it is celebrated in Mexico and in the United States. Just in Case  By Yuyi Morales Roaring Book Press, 2008. Picture Book As Senor Calavera prepares for Grandma Beetle's birthday he finds an alphabetical assortment of unusual presents, but with the help of Zelmiro the Ghost, he finds the best gift of all. Ghosts...