Aaron Brindle (text), Lucy Fekete (illus.), Fly, Sebastian, Fly!, Crescent Moon Books, 1 March 2017, 48pp., $46.99 (hbk), ISBN: 9780987626509
When the duck pond begins to dry up the older ducks proclaim that someone must go to see the beavers who manage the dam upstream and find out what is causing their predicament. A little duck named Sebastian is the only one courageous enough to make the perilous journey even though he can’t fly yet.
The story of Sebastian’s travels follows a familiar pattern – with Sebastian encountering successive dangers which are resolved through good fortune, quick wittedness, good judgement and courage. Finally, the wolf who has been threatening the beavers is defeated and the beavers can return to the dam and their job of managing its flow. Most importantly, with the encouragement of his new friend, Posie, Sebastian learns to fly and can fly home to safety.
This is a sweet story of courage and honesty prevailing over cunning and cruelty. The storyline flows well and there are tense moments to hold the reader’s attention, although the resolutions to the perilous situations lacked complexity, sometimes seeming too suddenly and easily resolved. The incident of the threatening, grumpy bull becoming far more amenable after Sebastian removes the painful splinter from his hoof, is obviously lacking originality.
There is also no strong sense of Sebastian’s character. Unlike the eccentric characters of A.A. Milne and Beatrix Potter, who the author says have inspired his work, Sebastian’s only obvious characteristics are that he is extremely brave and quick witted. But generally, his character seemed sometimes quite bland and one dimensional.
The pencil drawings portray the characters’ facial expressions and general demeanour, complementing the text well. The drawing that illustrates the wolf’s predatory behaviour shows him as large and threatening as he peers at a vulnerable and frightened looking little duck.
The text is short and in bridging novel format making it readable for kids who are starting to gain reading confidence.
The production quality of this self-published book may make the reader approach it with low expectations, but, as I was, they should be pleasantly surprised to find the story interesting and the storyline well structured.
Reviewed by Barbara Swartz
