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From the Publisher
Can a young boy find fire for his family and bring it safely home? An exciting, nearly wordless picture book adventure as visually compelling as a Pixar short.
After a hard rain douses the family fire, a brave young boy sets out to search for more fire to bring home before the cold season sets in. Along the way, he’ll face many challenges, from perilous mountains to fearsome predators to raging rivers, and find something wholly unexpected: a friend. In his picture book debut, artist Logan S. Kline crafts a dramatic tale inspired by prehistoric times and told almost entirely through stunningly detailed illustrations. “Finding Fire started with the sketch of a small boy holding a torch and grew from there,” he says. “A lot of research went into creating the art for this book, yet the look of the boy changed very little over time as he was inspired by my children, from my younger son’s wiry frame to my elder son’s wild hair that goes in a million different directions.” This gorgeous adventure story just begs to be visited again and again, with each perusal promising new discoveries.
Editorial Reviews
★ 07/18/2022
Wordless save for a five-line intro, this picture book stars a prehistoric child, portrayed with pale skin and red hair, who sets out to find a new source of fire after a torrential rain douses a local cave hearth. Initially youthful confidence and competence personified, the kid trudges with a trusty spear through a windswept, predator-populated landscape. But a sudden tumble results in a hurt foot, and the protagonist realizes they’re utterly alone—until they selflessly rescue a scrawny woolly mammoth calf, and gain both a companion and a trusty steed. Rendered in soft blue and brown tones that offer a visual counterpoint to the naturalistically craggy setting, debut creator Kline’s mixed-media art exudes the sense of a fledgling world. Comics-style panels pull the reader into close connection with the determined protagonist, while bravura cinematic spreads celebrate ingenuity, kindness, and bravery against the elements and great odds. Readers will pore over these vividly imagined pages en route to its cozy, brightly lit end. Ages 4–8. Agency: Herman Agency. (Sept.)
Publishers Weekly
Comics-style panels pull the reader into close connection with the determined protagonist, while bravura cinematic spreads celebrate ingenuity, kindness, and bravery against the elements and great odds. Readers will pore over these vividly imagined pages en route to its cozy, brightly lit end.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Each illustration serves to carry the story forward, from sweeping panoramic two-page spreads to multi-panel compositions showing close ups of the boy’s expressions as he deals with the various setbacks. This is an engaging tale of perseverance, friendship, and family that will appeal to both emergent readers and middle grade students.
—School Library Connection (starred review)
Simple but heartwarming. . .. A prehistoric premise best enjoyed cozied up next to a warm, safe fireplace.
—Kirkus Reviews
This tiny but valiant adventure is visually precise enough for lap-sitters and artistically sophisticated enough for primary grade prehistory fans. . . . This will make a good wind-down choice at bedtime or perhaps a candlelit saga to while away a power outage.
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Logan S. Kline imagines Neolithic life as precarious yet affable in ‘Finding Fire,’ a mostly wordless picture book for children ages 3-7. In this charmer, the shaggy members of a cave-clan are nonplussed when rain puts out their fire. As the adults engage in a round of recriminations, a scrawny red-headed boy raises his hand. Fine, we imagine him saying, I’ll go find some fire.
—The Wall Street Journal
In Logan S. Kline’s affectionate, dreamlike illustrations we see the boy traversing rivers and misty highlands, using his wits to keep predators away, and saving a baby mastodon trapped in mud.
—The Wall Street Journal
So few words, yet such powerful storytelling. Logan S. Kline’s brilliant debut is a thought-provoking film-on-paper that takes us back to the age before technology and convenience. You will get lost in every page, and after you complete the journey with boy and beast, you’ll sit speechless before starting over again. If you shy away from wordless picture books, now is the time to make an exception.
—The Barnes and Noble Blog
Here, gorgeous, lovingly detailed and naturalistic cartoon drawings wordlessly convey an epic of young heroism.
—The Arkansas Democrat Gazette
From the Publisher
2022-05-25
“Long before the secrets of fire / had been discovered, people had to find fire. / And if they lost it… / if it went out… / someone would need to search for more.”
So begins this wordless picture book. The page turns to a carefully rendered multigenerational group of light-skinned cave people whose fire has been extinguished by rain. This event causes an argument about who, presumably, will be the one to bring back more fire. A red-haired, light-skinned child volunteers and sets off on a quest. Rugged, sparse mountains and outcroppings, white-capped rivers, weather, and saber-toothed predators all present varied challenges for the child in the lush, earth-toned illustrations, rendered in graphite, ink, oil paint, and digital techniques. Limping through the changing scenery on an injured foot, the child encounters and teams up with a similarly imperiled mastodon calf. Luck strikes, and they succeed in finding fire. A long, treacherous journey back to the cave ends on a high note, with the entire community—now including one mastodon companion—warm and dry around a roaring hearth. This is a simple but heartwarming story told through a well-balanced variety of panels and full double spreads. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A prehistoric premise best enjoyed cozied up next to a warm, safe fireplace. (Picture book. 4-8)
Kirkus Reviews