Friday, July 19, 2013

The Book Boat's In!

The Book Boat's In
by Cynthia Cotten; illustrated by Frane Lessac
32 pages; ages 4-8
Holiday House 2013

One day when Jesse goes into town with his dad, he sees the book boat tied up along the canal wharf. It's part library, part bookstore.  Jesse browses the shelves and finds the perfect book: The Swiss Family Robinson, with a bright read cover. The cost: twenty cents. But Jesse doesn't have 20 cents.

He figures he can earn that money before the book boat returns - in a week. So Jesse works odd jobs around town: sweeping the general store, chopping wood, running errands. This story of life around the canal is illustrated with folk-art paintings that set the mood and keep us in the 1800's.

If we can have book boats, anything is possible: book burros, books on bikes, even libraries in old phone booths. This is a great story for book lovers of all ages.

Review f&g provided by publisher.

1 comment:

  1. Oh! I'm going to have to find this book! My Mom Person has a passion for all things book mobile. She collects photos and books of such things. We have a photo of an actual book boat in England. Thanks for sharing this!

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