Tag Archives: The Maggie B.

Zoom at Sea

Posted on December 28, 2013 | Comments Off on Zoom at Sea

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Zoom (a cat who loves water) finds an address and a map left by his uncle (who has gone off adventuring) labeled “The Sea and how to get there.”  But following the map does not help Zoom find what he expected–at least not at first.  This is a deeply imaginative book that intrigues the boys–it reminds me of The Maggie B. with its beauty, coziness, and themes of sailing, adventure, and family.  It is the first of three books about Zoom and it may be our favorite.  

Author:  Tim Wynne-Jones
Illustrator:  Eric Beddows

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The Maggie B.

Posted on November 12, 2013 | Comments Off on The Maggie B.

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An easy way for me to get a “yay” from the boys is to pick out The Maggie B. as their bedtime story.  A little girl begins the book by wishing on a star:

North Star, star of the sea,
I wish for a ship
Named after me,
To sail for a day
Alone and free,
With someone nice
For company.

When she wakes up, she finds that she is “in the cabin of her own ship” and spends the day joyfully taking care of the ship and her “dear baby” brother (the nice company).  This book is always a favorite.  Both the words and the pictures are scrumptious and story is a perfect mix of the fantastic and the matter-of-fact.  (My youngest also enjoys the counting rhyme that ends with a nibbled little finger.)  I was lucky to find this book through raves on other sites (one look at the pictures and I was hooked) where the word that came up over and over to describe it was “cozy.”  I completely agree; we love ending the night snuggled up with The Maggie B.

Author:  Irene Haas
Illustrator:  Irene Haas

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