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1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
Opening this book is like sitting down in a canoe, taking up a paddle, and gliding out into the summer beauty of a hidden lake. In this picture book that is as refreshing and inviting as a perfect canoe day, a fawn peeks out from the trees as ducklings fan out behind their mother. Butterflies pause and fish laze beneath the lily pads. Ruth Wright Paulsen’s sunlit paintings and Gary Paulsen’s poetic text capture all the peace and pleasure of a day when water and sky are one.
  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

    Kindle restrictions
  • Languages

  • Levels

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 1, 1999
      The prolific author of such titles as Hatchet and Soldier's Heart turns from adventure and high action to contemplative moments in this not particularly childlike mood piece. Describing a canoe trip around a lake, his prose poem homes in on quiet encounters with nature: "Sometimes when it is still," it begins, "so still you can hear the swish of a butterfly's wing--sometimes when it is that still I take the canoe out on the edge of the lake." The images pile up in long, leisurely sentences. The canoe "slides in green magic without a ripple"; the water "is a window into the skylake." Later, the narrator, a man, describes fish, ducks, fox, fawns and other wildlife. Unfortunately, Ruth Wright Paulsen (who previously collaborated with her husband on Dogteam) translates these idylls as static moments in her full-spread paintings. Her grainy oils are realistic but heavy, her fish and animals locked into place with none of the lightness or wonder of the text. The design features two unusual elements: a stylized typeface, imposed atop the paintings, is distracting, but the use of vertical borders in solid colors, alternately contrasting with or complementing the compositions, subtly draws attention to the artist's strong sense of color and helps to create a visual pacing. Even so, the pictures weigh down the text instead of advancing it. Ages 4-8.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 25, 2001
      The author of Hatchet
      turns from adventure and high action to contemplative moments with this prose poem that describes a trip around a lake. Ages 4-8.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook
Kindle restrictions

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:3.5
  • Lexile® Measure:930
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:2-5

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