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The Little Island
- By Margaret Wise Brown
- Genre: Picture Book
Common Sense Media says
Seashore world comes alive in this classic book.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is one of many reprints of this 1947 Caldecott Medalist, and is free of anything offensive. Though this paperback edition is charming, an earlier hardback edition might show off the art of the illustrations more beautifully.
What's the story?
As seasons change, days and nights pass, and storms come and go, life changes on the little island, but the little island is steady through it all. One summer day, a kitten sails over with some people on a picnic and spends the day prowling around.
When the kitten belittles the island for being so small and unimportant, the island sends him to a fish who helps him see that, even though the island seems small, it's truly a part of the bigger world.
Is it any good?
THE LITTLE ISLAND is a beautiful, intriguing book on many levels. The illustrations are remarkable, and so is the simple, profound story. On one hand, it's an engaging, sensitive introduction to nature on a small island in Maine. On the other, it's a lesson in feeling important, no matter how small you appear to be.
This book was published in 1946 under the pseudonym Golden McDonald, actually Margaret Wise Brown, who is better known for her well-loved bedtime book, Goodnight, Moon. That she grew up along Long Island Sound and later lived on the coast of Maine is clearly reflected in the vivid descriptions. While reading about the lobsters, kingfishers, fireflies, and storm-drenched beaches, readers can almost smell the salt and sand, hear the whistling wind, and taste the seam and they can feel the tranquil beauty of the shoreline world. Her friend, illustrator Leonard Weisgard caught her enthusiasm for the Maine coast, which led to his award-winning pictures that he said "grew right up out of the water."
What families can talk about
Families can talk about nature in this book, which is both a science lesson and a presentation of Margaret Wise Brown's philosophy of life and love of nature. The island is teeming with life, and it all changes with the seasons. What birds, bugs, and sea life can you identify? How can you tell what season it is? What does make something an island? What secret does the kitten learn? Would you believe the fish? Would you take his explanation "on faith" as the kitten does?
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| Author: | Margaret Wise Brown |
| Illustrator: | Leonard Weisgard |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Picture Book |
| Publisher: | Dell Dragonfly Books |
| Publication date: | July 27, 2004 |
| Number of pages: | 48 |
| Paperback price: | $6.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 5 - 7 |
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