The Lake Where Loon Lives

by Brenda Reeves Sturgis, Brooke Carlton (Illustrator)

Overview

There's a lake with a loon and two chicks. Sounds peaceful, right? Guess again. The Lake Where Loon Lives starts quietly, but the story builds, one line at a time, to a wacky and wonderful splashy crescendo, as the loons are joined by a playful fly, a slippery fish, and a curious boy on the dock. Brenda Reeves Sturgis treats us to fanciful and evocative word play while Brooke Carlton's exuberant watercolors tell the story behind the story. Mama Loon rolls her eyes and tolerates the antics that take place on the lake until, at the end, she snuggles with her chicks who are ready for sleep, just as the readers of this wonderful picture book will be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939017246
Publisher:	Islandport Press
Publication date:	05/16/2014
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	2 - 6 Years

About the Author

Brenda Reeves Sturgis is a Maine author who began her writing journey in 2004 after attending a school visit by famed author Lynn Plourde. She is the author of 10 Turkeys in the Road and No Fun in the Sun for Santa. She and her husband Gary live on a lovely little lake where she listens to loons wail and watches an occasional moose meander across her backyard. She has four children and four grandchildren. Brooke Carlton began drawing in her thirties as an excuse to color in her own picture-book ideas. She arbitrarily chose pen and ink, with an old set of Winsor & Newton watercolors to fill in. The resulting combo and hot palette quickly became her trademark.. Her whimsical illustrations have appeared in children's magazines and books, private collections, commercial brochures and posters, mailing envelopes, and even large mural walls. Brooke works out of her tiny studio in the woods of rural Maine.

Editorial Reviews

06/01/2014
PreS-Gr 2—Inspired by the cumulative rhyme, "The House That Jack Built," Sturgis has fashioned an ode to a Maine lake (and those who reside there) on a sunny, summer day. Beginning with Mama Loon, bedecked in pearls and a flowered sun bonnet, the book introduces readers to her two mischievous chicks; a horn-playing fly; the fish who pursues it; and the boy on the dock, intent on catching the fish. The narrative doesn't adhere strictly to the traditional rhyme scheme, giving it enough originality to keep it fresh and amusing. Carlton's delightful watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations are perfectly matched to Sturgis's playful story. From the smallest of background details to extreme close-ups, the cartoon style and bright colors are sure to catch—and hold—young readers' attention.—Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, Oak Bluffs, MA

School Library Journal