Boats Float!

Starred review from June 22, 2015
George Ella Lyon teams up with her son Benn in this follow-up to Planes Fly! (2013), once again working with Wiggins. From grand ocean liners to boats “so short that fore is almost aft,” the Lyons highlight a wide variety of watercrafts while introducing nautical lingo (“A lookout’s on the poop deck./ Controls are on the bridge./ The bathroom’s called the head./ The galley holds the fridge”). Wiggins’s majestic seascapes are postcard-perfect and dashed with hints of humor (a certain butcher, baker, and candlestick maker have a cameo), leaving readers with the sense that floatation is just as miraculous as flight. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

July 15, 2015
Ahoy, maties! As in her Trucks Roll! (2007) and Planes Fly! (2013), Lyon and her co-author celebrate a ubiquitous, well-loved form of transport in verse and launch it along on young readers' imaginations. Numerous boats of all kinds and sizes, from different cultures and parts of the world and used for a variety of purposes, including play and habitation, are introduced here. Young readers will be awash in vessels plying waterways from rivers to lakes, ponds to bathtubs, and pools to oceans. Front and back endpapers feature a floating parade, and the colorful digital illustrations of the various boats and their environs showcase many shades of watery blue and exude spirited energy. The staunchest of landlubbers will yearn to set sail; one can almost hear the gently lapping waves. Overall, the verses are jaunty, though the rhymes and rhythms are inconsistent, sometimes even a bit clunky. Children will appreciate learning nifty new seafaring terms such as "poop deck," "head," "bilibilis," "wherries," "coracles," and "dinghies," all italicized in the text, as they picture themselves at the helm of any of the boats floating on these pages. In some illustrations, however, it's not always clear to which boats certain terms refer, so parental sailing expertise may be required. Young navigation enthusiasts, from bathtub ships' captains to ocean-cruiser wannabes, will enjoy this voyage. (Picture book. 4-7)

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September 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 2-For those who love the water and those who watch what floats, this poetically inspired look at vessels is the watery sequel to the author's Planes Fly! (S.& S., 2013). While colorful images present each type of boat, text extends the vocabulary well past boat parts (keel, hull, bow, stern, bilge, beam, fore, aft, sail, engine, paddle, oar, poop-deck, head, bridge, galley) to a global adventure of small and large crafts (gondola, skiff, bilibili, sampan, junk, coracle, dinghy). Each page presents a picture "from shore to shore" through digital images and rhyming text. Perspectives change along a river, through the water, under the waves, from the birds above to a cross-view of the galley below, with a soft texture in imitation of the aquatic surroundings. From the smallest toy boat to an ocean liner, this book has all vessel sizes covered, enough to convince readers to stretch out, float, and "be a boat." VERDICT A title both for the very young and those developing their interest in this topic.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

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