April 5, 2021
On this book’s title page, a child with a mop of red hair and dot eyes finds a wooden box among garbage outside and drags it indoors. “I have a box. I want a boat,” writes Scanlon (Thank You, Garden), and the child’s imagination does the rest. A rudder appears, and a green sail. With the boat sorted, the adventure needs getting: “I have a sail. I want the sea!” results in ocean waves lapping at the bedroom rug, witnessed by a small crew of stuffed animals. Soon underway, the sailor is accompanied by a friendly sea turtle, a striped fish, and three stuffed animals to serve as the crew. Atteberry (Ghost Cat) creates a toy-box world of soft forms, scribble-shadowed waves, and swirling breezes. When “I have the sky. I want a storm” conjures a tempest that blows the crew overboard, the child’s surroundings-shaping power makes it reasonably easy to restore calm. The draw of the story is the young protagonist’s ability to brings needs to life via imagination—power that Scanlon emphasizes with the punch of repeating, easily memorized prose. Ages 4–6. Agent (for Scanlon and Atteberry): Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary.
May 1, 2021
A young child uses their imagination to conjure up a boat, a sea, and an adventure. And that's just the beginning. The story begins with wordless illustrations showing a child (illustrated with pale skin and red hair) dragging a box to their room. "I have a box. / I want a boat," the child states. As the child's imagination kicks into gear, boat, rudder, sail, sea, map, and crew are all imaginatively conjured. But when a storm is asked for, things get a bit dicey. (It all ends well.) The clipped narrative delivers a sturdy bass line thrumming with appealing protagonist confidence, but it is the illustrations that make it all a resounding success. With both clarity and a confident understatement that echoes the confidence of the narrative, the full-color illustrations are presented with a fine attention to detail that enriches and deepens the story, enabling readers to use their own imaginations as they pick out what has changed illustratively and what is developing. On a broader scale, the page-by-page design also augments the theme: When the child's imagination hasn't yet soared, the illustrations are contained by white space on which the text is printed. As the child's imagination takes hold, the text is included inside the boxed illustrations, and as the imagination takes over, the illustrations become full-bleed double-page spreads. All sails are set and pulling in this imaginative matchup of words and pictures. (Picture book. 3-8)
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November 5, 2021
Preschool-Grade 1 Scanlon has written a wonderful read-aloud picture book for imaginative and adventurous readers. It begins with a young girl who has a box and a big idea. The story escalates in action as the child systematically adds elements to her box, turning it into a boat to take on an adventure. Short sentences (two per page) carry the story, following the same pattern of "I have . . .," "I want . . ." Thus, her box becomes a boat that requires a rudder, a sail, the sea, a map, and so on until she encounters a scary storm that almost blows her crew away. Happily, she returns safely to shore, where she enjoys her supper, gets ready for bed, and dreams about the next adventure in her box. The story's flow and repetition teach very young readers basic sequencing--What will happen next? What does the character need?--and the candy-colored illustrations support each pair of sentences. From artwork to text, everything is big and clear to see, making this a nice choice for group or one-on-one reading.
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December 24, 2021
PreS-Gr 1-A little red-haired girl wants a boat, but all she has is a box. Enter her imagination. The box quickly becomes a boat on the wild sea, on which she sails with her crew of stuffed animals. Each page has one to two very simple sentences, repeating the phrase from the previous one. "I have the sea. I want a map. I have a map. I want a crew." Watercolor, acrylic, and digital illustrations are vividly colored and absolutely adorable. Scenes with the girl in her "boat" are centered on the page, and with each page turn, a new item is added to the fun. Little ones will connect with and be inspired by the girl's passion for adventure as she sails on the wild, rollicking sea. The ending lends itself to imaginative free play. VERDICT A fun purchase for maker spaces, toddler story time, and classroom play.-Tracy Cronce, Stevens Point Pub. Sch. District, WI
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