Quick Booktalk
As a little ferry boat carries people back and forth across the water, she is distracted by how much her passengers praise other types of boats and veers off course attempting to imitate them. When there is an emergency, however, she realizes how helpful her own good qualities actually are.
About the Illustrations
The pictures in this book make me think of some of Disney's storyboard images, so it wasn't much of a surprise to learn that the illustrator has worked for Disney. All of the boats have anthropomorphic features, while the humans and animals in the story are more realistic. The illustrations portray a lot of movement of boats and water very effectivly using varying shapes and lines.
Read-Aloud Possibilities
This is a fine book to read aloud, with not many words on the page, lots of bold shapes and lines in the pictures and even some onomatopoeia. It could be fun for a story time about boats, especially since ferries are not widely represented in picture books. It also works for a "be yourself" theme.
Readers Advisory
There are so many books already that follow this same formula, where a small vehicle discovers its big purpose: The Little Engine That Could, Little Excavator, Little Tug, Lily Leads the Way etc. I wish this one had done something a little bit different with the premise to make itself stand out a little more.
Disclosure
I received a review copy of A Little Ferry Tale from Atheneum Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
