The Long Island:

by Drew Beckmeyer

Some of us like the comfort of familiarity—staying close to the home we've always known, making a life, building a community. For some, the intimacy of the old routine is satisfaction itself. But the known is not for everyone. When our 5 protagonists get to wondering what's on the other side of their island, they can't stop until they find out. What follows is an epic journey of discovery, danger, imagination, and ultimately, bittersweet fulfillment. Is this sophisticated picture book about man versus earth? Man versus man? Or man versus self? Like our protagonists, every reader will find their own right answer in this haunting and deceptively simple modern fable.

Genres: Picture Books, Travel, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy

64 pages, Hardcover

Published April 3, 2018

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

What. Is. This.

[Mary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fable about how humankind screws every wild place up...yet still longs for what hasn't been destroyed.

[Otto Cuauhtémoc · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Me divertí muchísimo! Y en solo una página sentí la punzada de la realidad para dar vuelta a la hoja y entender que la literatura nos da muchas posibilidades brillantes de cuestionamiento y diversión y que la literatura infantil es lo mejor

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an odd, quiet picture book that I want to say is for older readers, perhaps even adults rather than children. I'd definitely stick to read alouds for older elementary +, despite the limited text. I get the moral, but quality children's books shouldn't beat you about the head with the moral of the story, or may you feel as though the story is only a vehicle for the moral. Swing and a miss here.

[Judy & Marianne from Long and Short Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adventures can be found anywhere you roam.

This was one of those tales that can appeal to adults as much as it does for the age group it was originally written for. That’s something I always appreciate finding in a picture book. It’s just rare enough that it’s a real treat to read something that will mean one thing to an elementary-aged reader and quite another to an adult who looked at the same words.

There were barely any explanations at all about what was going on in this plot. I’m comfortable reading about nameless characters, but not knowing anything about them at all was tricky. They were described in such a way that it was impossible to know their ages, genders, or any other details that could round them out as individuals at all. The fact that this pattern repeated again with the plot only made it harder for me to get into it. While I appreciated the attempt to create something that anyone could relate to, I personally need at least a few concrete details in order to connect with the characters and become invested in what will happen next in the storyline.

With that being said, I did enjoy the questions the characters asked about whether it’s best to stick to the places you know or move on to seek adventure somewhere else. Not only will the answer to this be different for each person, what someone wants in one stage of life could easily flip a few years or decades later as their circumstances change and they yearn to reconnect with their roots or explore a new place. It was nice to see such an open-ended approach to what makes for a good life.

The Long Island should be read by anyone who enjoys coming to their own conclusions about the meaning of a story.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that makes you think. My first thought as I read this was a slight variation of the quote from the movie "Field of Dreams": If you build it, they will come. Although in this case, the circumstances are completely different since the group on the island did not want others to see what they saw. They constructed things for their convenience and use, not to attract others. However, their construction (something that looks similar to an amusement park) did just that -- attracted many someones -- which caused them to abandon this effort and move on.

Beckmeyer uses crayon to draw the images of a group of people who are exploring their environment.
Shapes are indefinite and blurry, giving just the hint of what we are supposed to see. The viewer then can mentally fill in the details.

A great book to start a discussion, with its haunting theme and visuals. PreSchool-grade 3.

[Bianca · Rating 2 out of 5]

?????

Beautiful cover, someone had put this on display at my branch so I decided to take a look at it. This story is confusing from the very first pages: "They would sit and wonder about the other side of the island, and they would ride out." What? Did I miss something? "They" who?? Things only get more cryptic as you go on, and not even in a bemusing way.

You'd have to really adore and commit to this book in order to get it to work for children, it's esoteric and more of a story for philosophy majors.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have no idea what I just read. Did those two people at the beginning die on the rocks and by getting eaten by whatever that big cat was? Did the island become Seattle? What exactly happened with those three remaining guys at the end? I'm left with only questions. But I did like the idea of building a giant slide.

[Jesse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't get it? The only thing going for it is the characters figuring out a way to travel from one place to another and building what they needed. It wasn't until reading another person's review that I had a bit of insight into the premise, but that doesn't make me like it any better.

[Eryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures are lovely. The story is more than obscure. I have a masters in psychology and I don’t “get” it. It just doesn’t go anywhere. On top of that my 6 year old was the first to notice how everyone was dying. . . NOT what I was wanting from this read.

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

STEM

[Alyssa Calhoun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe good for middle and high school, but probably not a book I'll put in my elementary library.

[Amber · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know if I'm just an ignorant Neanderthal, but I did not get this book at all.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh? Intriguing, but it left me wondering what was the point.

[Amy Ris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is very funny - Caleb

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the cover. And the premise sounded interesting but somehow the story fell a bit short for me.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting crayon illustrations support this story about exploration. It is clear that many of us prefer to stick to what seems safe or is familiar to us while others wonder what's on the other side or what's out there that cannot be seen. And what might have happened or not have happened had someone not been willing to take a risk and charge into the unknown? As a child, I remember gazing at the mountains that surrounded me and being curious about what might lie past them. This picture book reminds me of those days and how many of my peers and the adults around me had no interest in looking past what was right in front of their eyes. In the book a group of individuals dreams of exploring the other side of their island by various means--on a boat, cutting through the dense foliage or even building a bridge. Once a couple of them figure out a solution, and once they are settled, others follow and set up their own dwelling places. For one person, things become crowded, and he must move on, looking for places that haven't been explored yet. The book sort of reminds me of Daniel Boone who seemed more interested in finding places where few others had ever been than settling down to a quiet life. I like the idea behind this book and the way it supports creative problem solving, but I wish there had been a stronger opening. I had to do a double-take since the story just leapt out at me.