Boats on the Bay: A Board Book

by Jeanne Walker Harvey, Grady McFerrin (Illustrator)

Overview

Originally published as a picture book, this board-book edition features boats found on a busy bay, buoyed by award-winning author Jeanne Walker Harvey’s simple, spare, and lyrical text, and Grady McFerrin’s wondrous full-color illustrations.

A KidLitTV Recommended Book!

Inspired by the San Francisco Bay but with universal appeal, the book features a spectacular double-spread gatefold finale showing a boat parade and fireworks glowing against a city backdrop.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781949480306
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Pages:	24
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 7.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 4 Years

About the Author

Jeanne Walker Harvey is the author of several picture books, including Boats on the Bay, as well as the well-received picture book biographies Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas and Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines. She lives in Sonoma, California.

Editorial Reviews

"This is McFerrin’s debut picture book. . . .He manages to capture textures you want to reach out and touch."

"Harvey’s short, simple sentences, many with internal rhymes . . . make this a good fit for emerging readers."

Things That Go Zoom - Julie Danielson

"Simple, serene text coupled with stunning, sweeping illustrations."

Avery & Augustine

"This mini intro to our safe harbor is perfect run-up or follow-up for a leisurely stroll along the Embarcadero, bracing bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, or ferry tour around Alcatraz. Take-home message: Take notice."

San Fransisco Chronicle

"A well-designed book with a simple, approachable text."—Kirkus Reviews

"Simple, serene text coupled with stunning, sweeping illustrations."—Avery & Augustine

"This is McFerrin’s debut picture book. . . .He manages to capture textures you want to reach out and touch."

"Harvey’s short, simple sentences, many with internal rhymes . . . make this a good fit for emerging readers."—Julie Danielson, Kirkus Reviews, Things That Go Zoom

"A celebration of place and a catalogue of the kinds of vessels dear to the hearts of boat enthusiasts young and old."—Publishers Weekly

"This mini intro to our safe harbor is perfect run-up or follow-up for a leisurely stroll along the Embarcadero, bracing bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, or ferry tour around Alcatraz. Take-home message: Take notice."—San Fransisco Chronicle

From the Publisher

06/18/2018
Warm, affectionate portraits by debut illustrator McFerrin, of boats and ships in the waters off San Francisco, bring the life of the sea right up close. Fluid, expressive lines in blues, browns, and reds trace the vessels’ contours, the rigging of tall ships and fishing boats, even the distinctive architecture of the houses that overlook the water. Straightforward text by Harvey (Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines) sails from verse (“Boats on the bay get ready for the day”) to ordinary prose (“A ferry carries passengers”) to internal rhyme (“A tugboat lugs big ships”). Each spread features a different sort of vessel and its characteristics: “A fireboat fans water high and wide.” The action reaches a high point as two adult men and a boy on a long, flat boat put on a display—“A barge sets off fiery fireworks”—and a gatefold reveals spectacular fireworks exploding above San Francisco, its bridges, and other architectural landmarks standing out against the evening sky. It’s a celebration of place and a catalogue of the kinds of vessels dear to the hearts of boat enthusiasts young and old. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

2018-06-25
Boats that ply the waters of California's San Francisco Bay Area are highlighted in this picture book.Beginning with "A houseboat rocks by a dock," Harvey uses short sentences, with occasional internal rhymes, to introduce readers to a day of boat life on the bay. The text's brevity is juxtaposed against McFerrin's full-bleed double-page spreads, which, with their retro palette, cut-collage shapes, and freehand drawing overlay, are reminiscent of mid-20th-century advertising graphics. Their overall impression, though, is somewhat somber and emotionally removed since the palette leans toward the cool, blue end of the spectrum. The people illustrated are predominantly unsmiling, profile or rear-aspect adults (many white, though the stylized images permit other interpretations) who come across as preoccupied and distant rather than engaging of readers. The narrative however, is completely approachable, with a pleasing circularity, as the story ends where it began—with the houseboat, now at the end of the day. The book's design is well thought out; the page turn after the text, "A barge sets off fiery fireworks" becomes a wordless double gatefold as the scene lifts up to show fireworks against the city skyline with boats and water in the foreground. Pleasingly, the book's boards are imprinted with a design different from the dust jacket.A well-designed book with a simple, approachable text and emotionally aloof illustrations. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews