The Floating House

by Scott Russell Sanders, Helen Cogancherry (Illustrator)

Overview

It is 1815 and the adventurous McClure family is traveling by flatboat on an exciting journey down the Ohio River. Young Mary and Jonathan watch for sandbars and dangers up ahead, while their parents steer. The boat is loaded with everything the pioneers will need for their new life -- including their nervous horse, cow, pig, and mule. The McClures are eager to reach the country downstream where the rich farmland costs just a dollar an acre and people say you can plant a stick and it will grow. As the brave family journeys toward their future home, readers come along on a vivid trip into the past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590984253
Publisher:	Wooster Book Company, The
Publication date:	10/04/2011
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	244,251
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	2 - 10 Years

Editorial Reviews

This tale of a pioneer family gives "houseboat" a new meaning; the four journey down the Ohio River to Indiana, where they build a house using the wood from their boat. Ages 5-8. (Dec.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

K-Gr 3-In a story set in 1815, Mary and Jonathan McClure join their parents and numerous other families on an adventurous journey down the Ohio River. The McClures have been patiently waiting for winter's end aboard a loaded flatboat by a riverbank in Pittsburgh. Spring thaw makes travel on the river possible again; they set off, looking forward to a new life on fertile land in the territory that was to become Indiana. Sanders has written a descriptive narrative of these courageous people who loaded all their possessions, tools, animals, and family onto a flatboat or raft bound for a new home on unsettled land. The daily struggles and triumphs on the river are effectively portrayed throughout the narrative. Watercolor paintings in shades of blues, greens, and browns complete the historical perspective, detailing just about every aspect of this hardworking life. In addition, the children's sense of wonder, anticipation, and excitement is clearly defined through both text and illustrations. A pleasantly written and visually attractive picture book.-Rita Soltan, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI

School Library Journal

Many children's books recount odysseys of sturdy pioneers traveling west by covered wagon. Sanders offers an account of the fictional McClure family's 1815 journey down the Ohio River by flatboat. Starting from Pittsburgh in early spring, the McClures float downstream to Jeffersonville, Indiana, with their livestock, farming implements, and household possessions. There, they purchase land and build a house, reusing wood from their boat. Cogancherry's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations help clarify the text and provide many setting and seasonal details. The map on the endpapers will help children locate the towns mentioned in the story and give perspective to the trek. This excellent addition to pioneer units will be especially welcomed by children living in the Ohio River valley.

Kay Weisman