In Changing Tides, Júlia Moscardó (Home of the Wild) crafts a tender, quietly resonant story about adjusting to change and forming new bonds. The picture book follows a newly blended family in which Lula, a Black toddler, embarks on a beach trip (her "favorite place") with her father; his white partner, Simone; and Simone's son, Theo. They are "part of the family now," Lula's father says, but Lula isn't ready to accept this transition. She reluctantly helps pack the car, her emotions as unsteady as the waves she will soon meet.
At the shore, Lula's resistance softens: "The sand is hot and vast, and the water is cold and shiny." She races the waves, teasing them, "Ocean, you can't catch me!" When the waves creep too close to the most beautiful sandcastle Lula has ever made, Theo, who appears to be slightly older than Lula, offers a solution: a moat. But then a storm sweeps in and destroys their creation; Theo reaches for Lula's hand in quiet reassurance. By the next morning, Lula and Theo are running to the water together, the first steps toward their future as stepsiblings.
Moscardó's writing is direct and plainspoken, allowing the emotions to take center stage. The illustrations capture the nuances of Lula's journey--her hesitance, her bursts of joy, the subtle moments of connection that form between her and Theo. The ocean tableaux sparkle with sunlit warmth, mirroring the story's growing sense of togetherness.
A gentle, perceptive look at the shifting tides of family, Changing Tides captures the tentative but real steps of a child learning to welcome something new. --Julie Danielson