As Time Went By is the perfect title for this book. Part One begins with the ship. "Once upon a time there was a ship that sailed beside the sun with very important people on board." Over the the ship is sold on to a merchant. In the illustration you can see it is now loaded with cards and cargo including a train engine and a small aeroplane. The next owner is a fishing company and then the ship is abandoned.
Part Two Begins with an echo of the opening lines "Once upon a time there was a family for whom the sun was always shining." Over the the family squander all their money and eventually they become poor and have to move to a small house, then a smaller house until finally they move into one room near the harbor. Then in a chilling scene we see all of the people from this village are evicted. They walk towards the waterfront carrying their few possessions.
Part Three Again we hear similar words "One upon a time there was a village of homeless people and an abandoned ship." The displace people climb aboard the old abandoned ship and begin to rebuild it. The old ship becomes their home, it can sail again and in the final scene we see it carrying everyone in their newly created village on the water.
On the last page the words from the first page are repeated but this time they have a very different meaning.
"Once upon a time there was a ship that sailed beside the sun with very important people on board."
As Time Went By is another of those splendid picture books which can be read on many levels. I highly recommend this as a book to use with Senior Primary students. It is sure to generate some deep discussions. You can see some art from this book here. If you are discussing this book you might also like to share the comment from the School Library Journal which described this book as "both heavy-handed and opaque, this melancholy parable is not recommended." I utterly disagree but this I think this strongly expressed view is very interesting.
Publisher blurb from Walker Books: Once upon a time there was a ship that sailed beside the sun with very important people on board. The spirit of reinvention – and the importance we place on things – is beautifully expressed in Jose Sanabria's visually evocative story. A steamship makes a journey across time from luxury and exclusivity, industry and abandonment, to stewardship and inclusion as we see the evolving functions of the ship and the changing faces of the people who cherish it most of all.
There was a discussion recently on a Facebook group about end papers. The example found in this book is perfect. A the front you will find a fleet of ships. The waterway looks very crowded. The final end paper is filled with people, many of whom are smiling.
A lovely, rich book to spend time with. Kirkus Star review
José Sanabria is a Colombian illustrator based in Argentina. He won the Batchelder Honour Award in 2017 for As Time Went By which was first published in Switzerland with the title Wie die Zeit vergeht.
I am very keen to see another book illustrated by José Sanabria:
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