BOAT WORKS
From the Giant Fold-Out Book series
by Tom Slaughter & illustrated by Tom Slaughter
When you sail away on these seas, the vessel can be any you choose.
A question-and-answer text combines with the fold-out design to introduce children to maritime terminology. Clean, primary colors catch the eye, and the text is printed entirely in capital letters. The direct, first-person narrative allows the boats to brag about their particular attributes. “What am I? / I have a heavy anchor. / I have portholes. / I'm an ocean liner.” The vocabulary is appropriately accurate (though land-bound toddlers will be unlikely to correctly name the vessels from the clues); “buoy,” “mast” and “oar” are all represented. The fold-out design works well with the construction of the text, each one-panel clue unfolding first up and then over into an impressive spread, though the dramatic pictures will bend quickly (and likely rip) after repeat readings. Lines and silhouettes are clean and high-contrast, lending the book a Modernist energy.
No need for a life jacket; all these vessels glide smoothly into port.
(Board book. 1-3)