  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 03/01/2018 Becker’s wordless picture book, with its large, evocative digital illustrations, shows a story that begins with heartbreak. The tale opens with a family of four burying their family dog. The young daughter picks and lays golden flowers on top of the rock that marks Sascha’s grave. When the family leaves for their vacation at the beach, the child is clearly sad that her pet will not be accompanying them. A major shift in time occurs at this point in the book to millions of years ago when a golden meteorite is seen flying toward Earth. The many metamorphoses of the orb are revealed as readers follow its history. It takes on a multitude of shapes and serves many purposes as it is transported to various countries across the globe, and eventually comes to the girl. Through the centuries, what was originally a large golden sphere is greatly reduced in size yet still serves an important purpose: to help ameliorate a young girl’s grief over the loss of her beloved pet.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The first book in Becker’s best-selling Journey trilogy snagged him a Caldecott Honor, and his fans are ready and waiting for this new stand-alone picture book. - Copyright 2018 Booklist. School Library Journal - 04/01/2018 K-Gr 3—This wordless story begins with a framed image of a girl embracing her dog. In the next spread, she gathers flowers for its burial. Subsequent readings reveal the foreshadowing in these opening compositions. The title's golden hue—echoed in the flowers, necklaces worn by the girl and her father, and more—is the color to follow. After the protagonist tosses a stone across the water during the family's subsequent vacation, the narrative hurtles into a prehistoric meteor shower (or the girl's imagination) yielding veins of gold deep in the earth. Digital paintings presented in sequential panels and full-bleed spreads follow the pilfering and transformation of this particular mineral sample. The parade of civilizations rising and falling into ruin allows Becker to depict a range of architectural styles and costumes, creating the sort of arresting panoramas introduced in the "Journey" trilogy. Here, though, browns and grays comprise the palette of the past; the scenes are infused with more sfumato, as if seen through the mists of time before believably bringing the action back to the present day. VERDICT Combining a sensitive story line with high adventure and dramatic settings, this will inspire a variety of readers to envision histories of their own found objects.—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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