Rowboats, canoes, sailboats, speedboats, cruise ships, submarines, tugboats, and more! Boats come in all sizes and we use them in different for recreation, for transportation, and even for police work and fighting fires. This bright and strikingly graphic introduction to boats from award-winning author and illustrator Gail Gibbons is both basic and inviting, making it perfect for very young children.
From gailgibbons.com: I was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1944. Even as a little child, I was always busy putting books together. Sometimes I would bind them with yarn to hold the pages together. I've always loved drawing and painting. I was also a very curious child. My parents tell me that I was always asking lots and lots of questions.
Later, I went on to the University of Illinois, where I studied graphic design. Then I moved to New York City, where I got a job doing artwork for television shows. Eventually I was asked to do the artwork for a children's show. While doing that show, some of the children asked me if I had ever thought of doing children's books. My mind immediately recalled how much I enjoyed doing that type of thing when I was a child. So I put an idea for a book together and right away a publisher bought it. That book was called Willy and His Wheel Wagon. Since then, over 170 books that I have written and illustrated have been published. The type of books I write are non-fiction books. This is because I love researching so much. I get to ask lots of questions, just like when I was a kid. I also get to travel and meet lots of interesting people. While doing research for my book Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, I traveled to two islands where there are tropical rain forests, Saba and Dominica. I also had a great time writing and illustrating the book. I get a lot of pleasure from doing the type of work I do.
While this is in the Gail Gibbons style of busy illustration, Gibbons has done an excellent job of paring down her style to be appropriate for younger eyes as well as including just a bit of information regarding various types of boats.
My own bias is showing when I criticize the fact that most times when showing examples of boats that carry heavy loads it is usually ocean going vessels that are illustrated. Twenty four hours per day 365 days per year towboats with barges weighing millions of pounds ply navigable rivers of the world in continuous motion, stopping only to take on or off load cargo.
I borrowed this book from the library thinking it would appeal to Miss Muffet, who likes nonfiction, but it didn't impress her very much. We read through it once, and she liked looking at the illustrations but she hasn't asked to hear it again. Personally, I thought it was just okay. it's definitely a serviceable book for introducing a young child to boating vocabulary, but its not particular memorable, and it didn't feel as comprehensive as some of the other Gibbons books we've read (our favorite of which so far has been Emergency.)
Reading this book will teach kids that different kinds of boats are moved differently. Some are moved by oars and paddles, while others are moved by wind or engines. This book is made of sturdy cardboard and will last through all the reading the kids will surly do because they will love this book so much!
A board book meant for babies, this book is a simple to understand introduction to all things boats related. From canoes, kayaks, rowboats, sailboats, speedboats, cruise, submarine, task oriented boats.
My apologies to author and illustrator Gail Gibbons, I'm sure you're a lovely person but I do have to report that after I finished reading Boat Book to my 4-yr-old daughter she did a huge sigh and said, "That was boring." I am only the messenger here.
Gail Gibbons reliably creates focused non-ficiton books in which her illustrations and comprehensive text are appealing and accessible when shared with the very young, but also serve the more detailed interests of young independent readers. Boat Book is no exception.