Travel by boat – in a book or two

In the Kindermusik Imagine That! Toys I Make, Trips I Take semester, we have FUN exploring boats.  We use a fun song, and our imaginations to build a boat in class.  Then one of their homework assignments is to build a boat – any kind they want, with just a bit of parent support.  Wow, what imaginations we have.  Check out the slide show on my business blog: 

Children, Children, build me a boat

One of the books that comes with the home materials is called “In My Big Blue Boat”, in which a girl imagines what her day would be like if she sailed away in a big blue boat.  Beautiful illustrations, rhyming text, and full of sound words to explore sounds and movements while adventuring through the book.

Another assignment is to read this book and another book that focuses on some sort of adventure in a boat.  The object is to ask general questions that help children compare the boat, the characters, and the adventure.   This type of activity is so wonderful for developing reading comprehension and analytical thinking.

I definitely have a few favorites that I’d like to recommend:

The Sailor Dog 

A Golden book by Margaret Wise Brown, Ill. by Garth Williams

Ms. Brown most definitely shows her talent in this wonderful book of displacement, and finding, again, your place in the world.  There is even a song at the end that can be sung to the Popeye tune.

Row, Row, Row Your Boat  

A Scholastic book, as told and ill. by Iza Trapani.

Another fabulous author takes a classic song, and expands it into a wonderful adventure featuring a family of bears and their pet dog, as they have a wonderful day on the river.  SING every verse, it is so fun!

Theodore Mouse Goes to Sea

A Little Golden Book by Muntean

A shorebound mouse has enough of just watching the sea.  He pulls his bed to the shore and sets sail with his sheet.  He visits exotic places and defends himself against pirate cats, and more.  My daughter loves this book.

The Harbor and the Sea – by Lucille Wood  (1971)

This book is out of print, and I only found ONE copy available on ebay.  But there are a group of children that form a tugboat out of boxes.  They tell us the story of their adventures of the day, including songs and movements that are elicited by their imaginative activities.   When they pretend to pass a lighthouse, they move and sing, ”Round and Round I’m turning sending out my light, Round and Round I’m turning, guiding ships at night.”