This Was Our Pact

I enjoyed this book very much. Often, when a book promises the sort of adventure this one promises, the results turn out thin and disappointing. But Andrews did not let me down. He delivered. There was a message to it, of course, but I never felt hit over the head by that message. Mostly I was dragged along, willingly and happily, on an amazing adventure.

Really lovely graphic novel about two boys - not exactly friends - whose pact to follow their lanterns down the river turns into much more than they could have imagined. Beautiful art and a heartwarming story make this a winner, and one I will be happy to encourage my kids to pick up. We all need a good quest story every now and then, and this one is extremely satisfying.

Gorgeous! I was super impressed by this! It had some moments I felt could have been scenes in a Studio Ghibli film. One part I absolutely adored was when Nate figured something out by looking it up in a book and FisherBear told him that he was smart not because he knew the fact right off the top of his head but because he knew where to look for the answer. I think books often hold up characters who spout facts as geniuses, which is fine, but not really practical. I just thought it was sweet to model some intelligent behavior in a different way. I also loved the lesson about the scarf.