Customer Reviews

Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man (Picture Puffins)

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This book was one of my favorites growing up. Unlike other favorites that I found weren't so great anymore, this one has held up. It is much better than either Blueberries for Sal or Make Way for Ducklings because there are more plot turns and the color in the book just pours and splashes out of the book. The illustrations are just fabulous.

The book also uses nice alliteration and allows you to read it straight out or in voice (as a new englander or maybe Arlo Guthrie in Alice's restaurant - a sing-songy cadence -- check back after you read it twice and see what I mean). There are some repeated parts (descriptions of sounds and the leaky parts of the boat) that make the book fun to listen to for pre-readers as well as aurally rocking your child to sleep. My son has liked this since he was about 5 (now 7)

A terrific story with great illustrations.

My almost 5 year old son LOVES this book! I am not sure what is his favorite part - the colorful boat, the inside of the whale, the bandaids - but we have read this book at least 3 or 4 times a week for the past four weeks.

when i was a kid my grandparents lived next door to robert mccloskey, and he gave me a copy of this book. i fell in love with this book then, and still love it. it's light-hearted, creative, tension-building - and like all of his books, wonderfully illustrated.

mccloskey takes us to a time and place that mixes america from the 40s or 50s with the fanciful land of his imagination - a great combo!

burt dow is an gentle old sea salt, and his seagull, the whales, and his adventure spun magic in my memory!

i hope all kids get a chance to read this story!

This has always been one of my favorite books. Burt Dow has so much charracter. This is shown through the wonderful text and insigtfull pictures. Children should relate easily to the simple happy way in which Burt Dow thinks. Besides helping to reveal the wonderful charracter of this man, the pictures are also each a wonderfull piece of artwork in and of themselves. I especially like the ones of his old sea-side house with his garden and his boat. This book is a Classic.

This is a wonderful book, all of the kids I know love it (and I have gifted it to many).

When I was a little boy I lived on Deer Isle, Maine and I met Burt Dow who was a real person and he did have a old boat in his front yard filled with flowers. It brings back many memories. I think any child of the right age will like this book.

When Robert McCloskey took pen in hand to write Burt Dow he was at the top of his game and a gifted student of art and literature. His story of a Maine fisherman who goes out to sea in a leaky boat with an old one lung engine and catches a whale is the start. He puts a bandaid on the whales tail just before an oncoming storm at sea causes him to take refuge inside the grateful whale. Does that remind you of anything? Jonah? Androcles? Ahab? the African Queen? The story that delights children does appear to be a parody of the literature of the 40's and 50's when many rewritings of classic stories appeared. But that is not all. Oh No! That is not all. Take a look at the pictures in McCloskey's most colorful picture book. Who do you see? Winslow Homer? Jackson Pollock? Edward Hopped? Franz Marc? Writing as a children's librarian, I can think of few children's books with more intellectual adult entertainment.

It's not a simple picture book wih short sentences, this one's longer than most picture books. It's nice to learn boating terms. It's an interesting book but not cute. (Maybe it's more of a book for little boys who like adventure.)

If you like cute, there's Wings: A Tale of Two Chickens

Classic Book. My son first saw Burt Dow on a videotape of the Robert McCloskey books. At first, I couldn't find Burt Dow in any bookstores, but was glad when I finally did. My son loves the book and loves to play Burt Dow.

Robert McCloskey's Caldecott Medal winner is a classic. I read Burt Dow to our children and extended daycare family a countless number of times. The pictures and onomatopoeic language brings this action-packed, humorous narrative to life. Our son, a brand new father, smiled when he received this copy for Father's Day. I highly recommend this memory making adventure. If you have any doubts, check out Burt Dow at your local library before purchasing.

This is one of my very truly most favorite childrens books.
You will never see band aids the same way again.