Old Wood Boat

K-Gr 3–This unusual story is told from the perspective of an old wooden boat that journeys from the boatyard of an elderly man to the open sea when freshly repaired. Readers meet Old Wood Boat covered in brambles and home to small creatures. When a family buys the boat, she is refurbished to her former glory and taken out to sea. Reminiscent of Virginia Lee Burton’s The Little House, the ebb and flow of the narrative mirrors the rocking of a boat and the simple text clearly describes each development in the the boat’s rebirth. Beautiful prose (“scraps from the past hidden in vines”) capture the heart of the story. The stunning paper-cut illustrations stand out with their striking images and intricate details. McClure has written a gorgeous homage of sailing and the sea. Includes a glossary of sailing vocabulary and a two-page blueprint showing the boat’s inner workings.