K6039 (Ages 3-6) The young narrator (about seven years old) wants a boat, so he borrows his dad’s hammer and nails and uses a lot of wood and an old door and builds one. He attaches a bed sheet and sets sail for Bongadongo. In the meantime, his parents have gone to pick up his new brother, who is pictured as being about five years old. The blurb on the book jacket explains that this is a story about adoption, but that detail is not mentioned in the text, so there may be some confusion when the new brother does not turn out to be a baby, as would be expected. A sibling rivalry quickly develops between the two boys. The narrator continues on his imaginary journeys—and of course the new brother wants to go along. When the narrator finds a leaky old boat, he tries to fix it with boards and nails and chewing gum, but it still leaks. Finally, he has had enough of his pesky brother and he runs away. Even when a violent wind starts up, he does not return home. He gets blown around and is feeling pretty battered when he hears his brother calling him. The storm is over. The sun is out and a good boat without holes has landed in a tree. Now the brothers become partners in getting it down. They don their life jackets and row out into the river. Softly colored illustrations fill the pages with action and emotion. A possible discussion starter for story time reading.

Author: Tim Wynne-Jones
Additional Author: Boyds Mills Press, Inc.
ISBN: K6039
Count: 1