One month into the last voyage of the 'Rita Anne', the captain brings aboard a strange stonelike object that emits a glowing light. After a week, the men have lost the power of speech and have turned into grinning monkeys. The captain helps them recover by reading to them. The story - whose message is leavened by humor - has a quiet yet suspenseful tone; most of the plot's considerable drama is conveyed in the impressive illustrations. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ages 5-8. Van Allsburg once again sails into the seas of the unexplained, this time on the good ship Rita Ann. The voyage is going well until the crew ventures off to an uncharted island, where they find a glowing stone. They bring the stone aboard, and strange things begin happening. The crew members lose their ability to speak, start swinging through the riggings, and then turn into monkeys. Only after a storm, when lightning strikes the ship, do the effects of the stone begin to fade. Aided by the captain's violin-playing and reading, the crew members return to their former selves, though they are left with a craving for bananas. As always, Van Allsburg's paintings are magnificent. Cool, clear colors, boldly executed, and unusual perspective accentuate the story's mystery. What children will make of the scenario is up to them, but they'll probably demand explanations about the rock and its strange powers. Saying "that's where your imagination comes in" may be easy, but it's also something of a copout. With so little information given about the rock, it's just as easy to toss the book aside with a "who cares?" Although the story is in picture-book format, it could easily be used with older children who may be better able to bring their own vision to the tale. ~--Ilene Cooper

A captain's log records the puzzling transformation of his ship's sailors after a glowing rock from an uncharted island is brought aboard. They turn into apes, insensate to the captain's orders and ``fascinated by the rock.'' A storm nearly scuttles the ship but also breaks the stone's hold over the men, who return to normal--except for an inordinate fondness for bananas. Once again, Van Allsburg voyages into an unknown territory that is mystical and eerie--though his somewhat overblown prose substitutes unsettling obfuscation for dramatic storytelling. His sharp-edged, ultra-realistic paintings are a marvel in their own right, from the otherworldly luminiscence of the ominous island to the deep indigos used to create the stillness of the ship and sea by night to oddly angled, even dizzying perspectives of the ship's hold and mast. All ages. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

The two-time Caldecott winner continues the didactic vein of Just a Dream (1990). Captain Hope records the eerie events during a voyage of the Rita Anne. His crew is hard-working and ``accomplished in other ways''--they enjoy reading, music, and storytelling. Even so, after they stop on an island and bring back a mysterious rock with one smooth face that gives off a ``peculiar light,'' the men do nothing but watch it. Mesmerized, they sit transfixed until they are transformed into apes who don't even help when the ship is disabled in a storm. So, fortunately, is the stone, and Hope finds that the men are gradually returned to themselves as he reads to them. The artist's elegantly structured, richly shadowed paintings suggest more enigmatic depth than the story delivers, while the starkly boxed text interrupts the visual flow of each spread. Even so, a handsome setting for a valuable message, presented with some imagination and humor. (Picture book. 4-10)

Gr 2-4-- Van Allsburg's latest offering may be seen as preachy or provocative, allegorical or obvious, but like much of his previous work, it is bound to attract attention and stimulate discussion. Written in the form of a ship's log, the book outlines the unusual events that take place aboard the Rita Anne after the discovery of a glowing stone on a mysterious, deserted island. In a few brief entries, Captain Randall Ethan Hope notes his initial pleasure in the cultured and convivial crew, details the finding of the luminous stone, and divulges its terrible transformative effect--his shipmates have been turned into primates. When a sudden storm blows up, the Captain expects the worst. However, the ship survives long enough for the men to be rehabilitated and subsequently rescued. The stone is sent to the bottom of the sea by Captain Hope and all on board swear themselves to secrecy. The dramatic illustrations increase the suspense and surprise inherent in the unlikely adventures described. Visual humor, although used sparingly, also adds to the appeal of the colorful paintings. While this picture book could be read merely as an exotic ocean adventure, literacy advocates and fans of book discussions will enjoy ruminating over the symbolism of the mysterious glowing stone and arguing over the interpretation of Van Allsburg's oblique message. --Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.