Customer Reviews

The Little Boat

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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In anticipation of several planned trips to the beach, I bought THE LITTLE BOAT for my 2 year old son. I love that it is written without punctuation. It is actually a poem...sometimes verses rhyme and sometimes they don't. The reader gets to decide when and where (and if) to pause. It is up to the reader to provide animated emphasis to phrases and to quicken or slow the pace. I like that. Like a song, the reader provides the "arrangement." When I read it aloud to my son, it sounds very different than when my husband reads it. The more emotion and variance in timbre, the better.

The first time I read it aloud, I was just feeling my way through and it didn't have a great impact on my audience. By the third time I read it, my son was very excited and now asks for this book nightly. If your toddler occasionally turns a page ahead of time, missing half a page doesn't really affect the lyrical flow of the book (and in most places, not even the storyline), which is a great plus!

This book is labeled for ages 4+, and I'm happy to be able to find an interesting children's book with great illustrations that shows a new slant on writing style. Especially endearing is the little song that ties the beginning and end together so sweetly "We are unsinkable, my boat and me." Of course, those words simply must be sung, not read (no matter what the quality of your singing voice may be).

In addition to the lovely poetic style of this book, the simple story of a toy made from scrap styrofoam/stick/string and it's descriptive journey across the sea from one child to another carries with it a multitude of lessons...materialism, nature, ecology, consequences, connection. I just hope my paperback version holds up over the years.

I read this book to my almost 3-yr old son tonight for the first time. I was surprised to find out it was a poem, and it was truly beautiful and enjoyable to read outloud. My son was captivated by it and seemed to understand the concepts quite well. I liked the book so much that I will seek out others by the same author. I think it is printed for the UK, as well as the other works by the author, but I will seek them out. The illustrations are also nice and really work well.

This book is a poem, illustrated beautifully. I hate picture books where the story is poorly illustrated; this one is great. Both of my children loved this book, and when we go to the seaside, it is still book that someone may request a reading of (even at 13 & 9!) What child at the seashore, playing in the surf, does not think about where the bits of flotsam and jetsam came from? What child does not dream of putting a note in a bottle, and having it turn up in some exotic place? This poem is just about that, a toy boat, escaping from its owner, and finding a new child across an ocean.

A quietly beautiful book, a poem with a rhythm that mimics the ebb and flow of the sea, with rich and multi-layered illustrations, this is a wonderful way to introduce a child to the power of poetry (and the ocean and the human spirit).
I happened across this book and quietly wanted my 3-year-old to love this book. He didn't. After a few reads, though, it took hold, and two years later, it is still one of his favourites, one that he consistently wants to revisit. A true pearl.