Busy Boats

Organised round a day in the life of a harbour, this life enhancing picture book first invites young learners to join fishermen setting out to sea in the morning. The story moves on to the work of huge cranes putting their loads on the cargo boats and then to jolly tourist boats filling with holiday makers. Later on, rowing boats, ferry boats and swift moving rescue boats are shown at work. The appeal of this book is to do with the quality of the colourful and energetic double spread pictures with their sharp line and the simple but effective rhythmic text. ‘Judder, judder, judder, as the engines shudder’ accompanies pictures of the fishermen coming home at the end of the day and loading boxes of fish onto a van to be taken for sale.  Every page has the interest and detail likely to get young children thinking and talking.