Toy Boat

by Randall de Sève, Loren Long (Illustrator)

Overview

This classic tale makes the perfect gift for little boys who love adventure!

A little boy has a toy boat that he made out of a can, a cork, a yellow pencil, and some white cloth. The boy and his boat are inseparable . . . until the day the wind pushes the boat out into the wide lake, and the little boat must face fierce waves, a grumpy ferry, a sassy schooner, and a growling speed boat if he is to find his way home. From Randall de Seve and bestselling artist Loren Long, creator of the Otis series and illustrator of The Little Engine That Could, comes a child-friendly adventure sure to inspire imaginative toy play.

Praise for TOY BOAT

* "With plenty of buoyant charm and imaginative artwork, this contemporary Little Toot has an abundance of child appeal."—Booklist, starred review

"A resonant tale with wide appeal."—Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399167973
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/15/2014
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,128,312
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 1.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 2 Years

About the Author

Randall de Sève made her debut as an author with the New York Times bestseller Toy Boat, illustrated by Loren Long. She is also the author of The Duchess of Whimsy, illustrated by her husband, Peter de Sève. Randall lives with Peter and their two daughters in Brooklyn, New York.

To learn more about Randall de Sève, go to www.randalldeseve.com

Loren Long has puff puttedy chuffed his way all over the bestseller lists with such titles as Otis, Otis and the Tornado, Otis and the Puppy, Drummer Boy, The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper, Toy Boat by Randall de Seve, Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna, and Of Thee I Sing by President Barack Obama. Loren lives in a suburb of Cincinnati with his wife and their two sons, all frequent visitors to his studio, where they see the art and hear the stories first.
To learn more about Loren Long and his books, go to www.lorenlong.com or www.otisthetractor.com

Editorial Reviews

Praise for TOY BOAT

* "The streamlined text is straightforward, letting the amazing art do much of the work. Long's acrylic, hyperrealistic pictures, awash with many shades of blue, are so substantial they seem to be molded from clay, and his expansive double-page spreads effectively convey the perspectives and differences in the size between the full-size boats and the boy's beloved toy. A harmonious ending brings the story full circle. With plenty of buoyant charm and imaginative artwork, this contemporary Little Toot has an abundance of child appeal."—Booklist, starred review

"A resonant tale with wide appeal."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

A boy's handmade toy boat plays the metaphorical role of a child longing for independence in De Sève's auspicious first picture book. The text begins in simple language that lightly implies a parent/child bond: "The boy loved the boat, and they were never apart. They bathed together. They slept together." Every day the boy sails the boat in the lake, holding onto it with a string. Usually the boat feels content, but occasionally the sight of big boats awakens its curiosity about "what it would feel like to sail free." A sudden change in the weather occasions the toy boat's premature adventure out of the boy's protective grasp, described in suspenseful text and acrylics that imaginatively extend De Sève's story. Long (the re-illustrated Little Engine that Could) shrewdly illustrates no persons other than David, even though David's mother plays a pivotal part. Rather, the toy boat has a face (readers should look carefully at the cork holding its mast) and, as it encounters the big boats at last, each wears its own visible personality. A giant ferry occupying most of a spread bears down on the toy boat, its windows, decks and trimmings shaped into an enraged visage, complete with glaring eyes and pursed lips; the toy boat shrinks dramatically in the wake of a huge speedboat depicted as a flame-colored shark. Not until the reassuring conclusion can the toy boat again be seen from the boy's perspective. A resonant tale with wide appeal. Ages 2-up. (Sept.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 1
A boy loves his toy boat and he takes it everywhere, keeping it close on a string near open water. When he drops the string and the toy is carried far out on the lake, it faces the perils of high waves, stormy skies, and large, mean-spirited vessels. The small boat, near sinking, sail heavy with water, misses the child terribly and floats aimlessly all night, lonely and frightened. (Even the moon is shown weeping at such a pathetic plight.) Finally the next day, "a humble little fishing boat" takes pity on the little boat since "it knew how it felt to be pushed around on the lake." It guides the toy toward shore-and for a few moments the little boat feels the joy of freedom, wind in its sail. Then the boy sees it and the boat is home again. Now, the boy occasionally lets the string go when they are by the lake since the boat knows to come back. This story of freedom and its perils has the potential to be unsettling for a young audience. The cruel eyes of the giant ferry bearing down on the small boat and the painted sharklike teeth on the side of the speedboat with its "screaming" motor can easily be construed as menacing and can send a negative instead of heartening message. Only near the end, on the spread where the little boat is sailing, does the acrylic art show the pleasure of the open sky and freedom at the prow. This book has limited child appeal.
—Susan MoorheadCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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