Dream Boats is the beautiful new children’s book illustrated by Kirsti Anne Wakelin and written by Dan Bar-el. I’ve been following the progress of the development of this book for the last few years, and can hardly wait to get my hands on a copy. The illustrations are lush, finely detailed, and filled with imagery to stimulate the imagination.

Take a look for yourself, and I’m sure you’ll agree.

A description of Dream Boats from the Simply Read web site:

Where do children go when they close their eyes to sleep?
They step onto their dreamboats and sail toward adventure.
From Maiqui in the Andes floating through the constellations, to Aljuu paddling along the shores of Haida Gwaii with Eagle, Orca and Black Bear, to Ivan sailing into St. Petersburg, then sneaking between the bony legs of Baba Yaga, stories and memories lead them on.
Dream Boats takes readers into the dreams of children around the world, dreams that are filled with family and legends, culture and love.

There are so many lovely details to this book. From the end pages filled with instructions on how to fold your own paper boat, to the flying fish swooping off the credits page, and the beautifully designed barcode on the back of the book.

Dream Boats has its official launch next Thursday June 13th at Christianne’s Lyceum of Literature & Art in Vancouver. Dan and Kirsti will be in attendance, and copies of the books will be available for purchase.

All photos courtesy of Kirsti Wakelin