Soup Ahoy                                                  

By Robert Newton Peck

Readers 8 - 12

Random Publishing 1994

ISBN 0-679-87617-0

 

Luther Wesley Vinson, otherwise known as Soup, and his friend Rob (the author as a boy) are fast friends who have old-fashioned fun in a small town way.  Their boat is comprised of a round table top with some additional parts added by the boys and named the “Star of Samoa”.  Their sea legs were helped when they won a contest on the radio and got to meet Sinker O. Sailor who is just one of the colorful characters in the book.  It is a tale of entertaining slapstick and wild action.  For readers 8-12 with chapters appropriate for bedtime reading.  There are other Soup books which will keep children coming back for more.

 

Ship Ahoy!                                                                                          

By Peter Sis

Young children

Greenwillow 1999

ISBN 0-688-16644-x

 

A child on a sofa imagines it turning into a succession of   XXXXXXX   culminating in an encounter with a sea monster.  The left-hand page is reality while the right-hand page replicates the same basic forms into highly imaginative boating experiences.  Simple outline drawings are rendered into paintings of detail and texture done in blue watercolor.  The fold-out page of the monster, in reality the vacuum cleaner, is not nearly as menacing when Mother appears with a book (about boats of course) to comfort the boy. Sis is known for his ability to challenge the reader's imagination and this is no exception.  It is well within the control of young children leading them to be creative on their own.

 

 

 

Speedboat                                                                                           

By James Marshall

Beginning Reader

Houghton Mifflin 1976

ISBN 0-395-95755-9

 

Two friends of differing persuasions spend a day apart.  Jasper Raisintoast having adventures in his superfast shining speedboat while Jack Tweedy-Jones leads a more sedentary day reading poetry and a new book entitled “How to Fly a Dirigible.”  A wad of bubble gum enables Tweedy to fly as high as a dirigible.  Not wanting to outdo Raisintoast’s adventurous day Tweedy states that “his day had its ups and downs.”  A beginning reader’s chapter book which is exuberant, delightfully bizarre and reaffirming of friendship.  Reminiscent of the two pals Frog and Toad.  Boating noise and speed are cautions that are reinforced by a ticket from Sheriff MacKenzie, to which Raisentoast responds that he is sorry.

 

 

 

Stack – A – Boat                                                                                        

By Jo Moore

Young Children

David & Charles Children’s Books, London. England 1996

 

           

A stack of study books to read and to play with.  When assembled they form a perfect boat in three parts. 1).  Only about an inch in size the two page spread states “Small boats bob!”  and “Seagulls fly! .. Flip Flap”  2).  (2x3 inches) Different kinds of boats “Look at all the boats!  Here is a toy boat.”  3)  (4x8 inches) “The bottom of a boat is a curious place, there are so many things to see”.  Made of very sturdy material and with vivid primary colors this toy book is a unique, pleasurable way to learn about boats.  The medium is the message.

 

Midget                                                                                                              

Grade 6-9

By Tim Bowler

McElderry Books 1994

ISBN 0-689-80115-7

 

Midget, a 15 year-old boy who is physically handicapped, speech impaired and subject to seizures, lives in fear of his 17 year-old brother, Seb, who blames him for their mother’s death during childbirth.  To everyone else, Seb appears to be a concerned, doting brother, but to Midget, he is a torturer.  Bowler attempts to raise the book above the level of a simple tale of good versus evil by introducing a supernatural twist and providing Midget with the power to combat his brother.  His escape is to dream about sailing a partially built dinghy from a nearby boatyard that he comes to love.  He befriends Joseph, the strange old builder of his beloved boat.  Once he begins sailing the boat he makes an astonishing discovery.  By using his mind and his willpower he can make things happen.  During a midsummer dingy-race where both brothers compete, Seb’s girlfriend tells him “You have to sacrifice the part of you that hates until you love what you once hated".  A psychological thriller of the very best kind but be warned, there is no predictable or happy resolution to the conflict; the ending hauntingly demonstrates the danger power poses to those who abuse it.

 

The story takes place in Essex, England. (The author’s degrees are in Swedish and Scandinavian studies which may account for this story’s “dark” theme.  He is head of Modern Languages at a school in Devon, England.)

 

Who Sank the Boat                                                                 Pre-School

By Pamela Allen

Coward-McCann  1983

 

Beside the sea on Mr. Peffer’s place, there lived a cow, a donkey, a sheep, a pig and a tiny little mouse.  As each animal hops aboard the rowboat they escalate the boat’s imbalance and dramatically lower its level in the water.  It is the final occupant, the mouse, who lands them in the drink.  This may teach the principles of balance, or boating safety in a very informal way but the real fun is in the humor.  They do survive, albeit dripping wet.  The text is easy-to-read prose and verse.  Wonderful full-page illustrations of animals with personalities delight the reader.

 

Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping                                                              

Grades 1-3

By Peggy Parrish

Pictures by Lynn Sweat

Greenwillow Books 1985

ISBN 0-688-04057

 

Amelia, the goofily literal-minded maid, goes on an adventure in the wild outdoors.  In her maid's regalia she does such things as “hit the road” (with a stick) makes “chocolate chip cookies” (with chocolate and potato chips), boats are "rowed" (all placed in a line or row), “catching a fish” means literally catch and release.

 

The word play is at an appropriate level where children will understand most of the phrases that confuse Amelia Bedelia and they'll enjoy her misguided but determined cheerfulness.  This is a splash of comedy in an easy reading format.  Line drawings in yellow, greens and browns help get the joke across.  It is refreshing to note that there are some non-white faces among the children.  A token towards diversity.

 

 

The Boats on the River                                                                                  

By Marjorie Flack

Pre-school - 3

Pictures by Barnum, Jay Hyde

Viking Penguin 1946    Caldecott Honor Book

ISBN 0-670-83918-3

 

The rhythmic text carries boats on their daily journey as a busy river flows through the city.  There are little boats and big boats, ferry boats, tugboats, a riverboat, an ocean liner, and many more.

 

The watercolor illustrations done by the author's son flow across the pages commanding reader's attention and giving just the right amount of information on each type of boat.  The journey from mountain to sea presents the concept of a river, the Hudson River in 1940, as it supports a variety of watercraft.  An ideal gift for a child who loves boats.              

 

Dedicated:

                                    For Tommy

                        Who helped to make this book

                                    From

                        His grandmother, who made the words

                                    And

                        His father, who made the pictures.

 

 

Pond Yachts: How to Build and Sail Them         

By M. deLesseps

Adults                                                 

Clarks Cove Collections

Two Bytes Publishing, 2000 Box 1043

Darien CT 06820

ISBN 1-881907-11-2  

 

An adult book on how to build pond yachts: clear, concise, accurate, honest and humorous.  A how-to book for parents and children to work together promoting nautical knowledge, respect for tools and craftsmanship and the desire to complete something of beauty.

 

Spiral bound with clear diagrams, handwritten labels' and text that takes you step by step through the construction.  Included in the appendices are a glossary, materials and miscellaneous helps.  The simple HOW-TO books on building and sailing pond models have been out of print in America since 1968.  This is a welcome “find” to help build a dream!

 

The Little Ships; The Heroic Rescue at Dunkirk in World War II              

By Louise Borden

Grade 3-5

Illustrated by Michael Forman

ISBN 0-689-80827-5

Margaret K. McElderry 1997. 

 

 

In May of 1940, half a million British and French soldiers were trapped in northern France by German troops and tanks on three sides.  The only escape for the Allied army was by sea.  An incredible armada of more than 800 craft, including Royal Navy ships and a flotilla of small river and coastal boats, known as “the little ships” was assembled on the southeastern coast of England.  They sailed across the English Channel to Dunkirk to rescue the besieged troops.  A small fishing craft set sail from Deal in England carrying a young girl dressed in her brother’s old clothes.  It is this brother she hopes to find in Dunkirk.  She sails with her father aboard the “Lucy”.  The text is poetic prose conveying the poignant narrative.  Foreman trained at the Royal College of Art, London, uses sweeping watercolor land and seascapes to provide panoramic views of the ragtag fleet of boats, the burning beaches and thousands of fleeing men.  This incredible adventure is part truth, part fiction but all well done.

 

The endnotes by the author give substantial facts and the speech of Winston Churchill about the evacuations.             An important book.

 

 

 

 

The Raft                                                                                                     

By Jim LaMarche

Grade 1-3

Harper Collins 2000

ISBN 0-688-13977-9

 

Nicky reluctantly spends a summer with his grandmother (the catcher and fryer of perch and bluegill) in the Wisconsin woods, far away from his friends, TV and the malls.  Then an old, half-submerged raft appears while fishing.  This changes everything, opening up the wonders around him; animals of the river and woods, his grandmother's humor and wisdom and his own special talent as an artist.  Full-page watercolors convey Nicky’s sense of freedom; the freedom of exploring on your own in the wilderness. Art is conveyed through the illustrations; both grandmother and Nicky are artists for “when you draw something you get closer to it and know it better”. The author's note states, “It is like an old cigar box kept as a boy, full of bits and pieces of boyhood summers”.