Reviewed by
Dianne Bates
This
picture book is based on Gratis, the sailing yacht that its author and her
husband sailed from Adelaide to Europe (see blog page www.gratisaustralis.com). It is
dedicated to ‘little girls who want to sail.’ The story begins with a close-up of the
blue boat with ‘billowing sales’ and ‘a towering mast that touches the sky’ and
proceeds, with rollicking rhythmic, repetitive sentences that describe aspects
of the boat (such as wheel, rudder, anchor and ‘a (girl) captain as brave as
brave can be.’) It then segues with the boat moving into a bay ‘where
shimmering dolphins jive and dive’, and sails into a ‘shore on the rollicking,
frolicking sea.’ Once the boat is anchored, the captain ‘nods off to sleep in her cosy soft
bed,’ dreaming of the boat.
The poetic and
repetitive prose of this cumulative picture book is ideal for reading aloud. It
is illustrated by bold, strong pictures which are painted in full, bright
colours. At the end of the book is a double page spread with a glossary for
words such as ‘rudder,’ ‘wheel’, ‘anchor,’ etc. On the final double-page is a
black and white line illustration, ideal for the reader to colour in with pencils, texta, or paint.
One suspects that a child aged from 4+ years will enjoy having the story read aloud to them,
while they follow the illustrations of Gratis which is depicted from numerous perspectives.
A Big
Blue Boat is
available from Amazon.
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