Thomas Docherty (2)

Venturing out onto the vast ocean, an independent little boat sails on through stormy seas, past monsters of the deep, through treacherous rocks, until it finally finds its friends. Then the fun really begins...

With the same simple text and exuberant watercolor illustrations that made To the Beach such a joy, Thomas Docherty's Little Boat is sure to captivate young sea-lovers with a yen for adventure. An ever-changing perspective - sometimes we see the little boat from above, sometimes from the side - keeps the reader excited and involved.… (plus d'informations)

The small tugboat in this story is just a speck in the big ocean. The little boat may encounter dangerous obstacles, terrible thunderstorms, and enormous sea monsters, but it continues on bravely searching for its sea creature friends. Nothing banishes the unknown and scary elements like a group of good friends. They playfully race around the ocean and never want to stop. In the company of friends, no ocean is too big for this little boat.

The story isn’t particularly complex and the text reads more like a life philosophy than a narrative. Docherty’s text is extremely concise and simple, with just a few well-chosen words per page. The illustrations are really the star of the book. Gender neutral little boat is an endearing protagonist, with a small puffing smoke stack and large, expressive eyes. The boat's friends, a school of fish, some porpoises, an octopus, and a large whale, are full of playful joy. The ocean seems to be a character of its own and Docherty deftly captures the many moods of the water, from lapping, clear blue waves to churning stormy water to the dark blue of the depths of the ocean.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/08/book-221-little-boat-by-thomas-doche...… (plus d'informations)