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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 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.
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.
The illustrations are just fabulous. This book was one of my favorites growing up. 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). 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. 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.
This is one of my very truly most favorite childrens books.You will never see band aids the same way again.
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