Boat Ride With Lillian Two Blossom
School Library Journal Review: PreS-Gr 2– A quiet fishing trip turns into an adventure for William and Mabel when Lillian Two Blossom, “an old Indian lady who lived in the woods,'' suggests that the siblings row her out to the center of Kalaska Pond. Before they realize what is happening, the boat lifts up out of the water, and Lillian, suddenly young again, is guiding them through the heavens, answering questions that Mabel had idly posed earlier about the rain, the winds, the sun, the moon, and the night. Bright paintings surrounded with white space depict a quiet day in the country, with blue lake, green fields, and children dressed in the straw hats, suspenders, and pinafore of an earlier time. Once the boat takes off for the sky, the paintings begin to fill the pages completely, showing how a school of bright fish brings the rain, scampering raccoons bring the night, and the polar bear spirit carries the moon across the heavens. Then the boat ride is over, and Lillian and the children return to the pond. Nothing is changed, and yet everything feels different. Polacco uses line, color, and space as in her earlier picture books. The story has the folkloric feeling of Rechenka's Eggs (Philomel, 1988) in an American Indian setting, although there is no documentation of authenticity of the legends used given in the book (nor in the Standard Dictionary of Folklore). Even as fiction modeled on folklore, the brief story has a magical feeling, with a sudden surprise that will capture listeners, and pictures large and colorful enough to share with a group. –Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, Pa.Copyright 1989 Cahners Business Information, Inc.