Customer Reviews

Mayday! Mayday!: A Coast Guard Rescue

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Demarest is a genius, and this is probably his best book. There are very few great "boy" books (I use the word carefully, it's for "boys" of either gender) in the world, and Demarest has written most of them.

The illustrations are marvelous and the poetry is excellent. It stands quite well as a poem all by itself.

I have a 9yo with a reading disability who's probably read this (with me) about fifty times. We now own most of Demarest's adventure books. It is a testament to their excellence that most remain in print, despite a lack of classy prizes. The latter, by the way, is an indictment of the industry that assigns "prizes" to children's books.

The only downside is that you run the risk of inspiring a child to become a rescue swimmer, fortunately the illustrations are worrisome enough that my son prefers to speak of becoming a mech. As noble and inspiring as these heroes are, it is not the sort of profession to ease a parent's heart.

Yes, the rhyming text is a bit labored, but my almost-4-year-old doesn't care. This is my favorite of Demarest's books because the story arc is really satisfying. (Although we love all the fire fighting books as well.) The illustrations are exciting and action-packed.

Of all the hundreds and hundreds of books we check out from the library, this is one of the few that I've felt is worth buying. My son has come back to it repeatedly since we discovered it nearly a year ago. He reenacts the story's daring rescues with Legos, with play-acting, and with friends. Highly recommended.

My son is 4 years old. Daddy is in the coast guard and my son loves to hear anything about the coast guard. The short pages and rhymes keep him interested.