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Ferry Tail

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By DeeDee
Cover image for Ferry tail




Ferry Tail
Written by Katharine Kenah
Illustrated by Nicole Wong
Sleeping Bear Press, 2014. unpaged picture book

Walter is a dog who lives on a ferry boat. He helps the cook by tasting the bacon. He helps the engineer by listening to the engine.  He is an important member of the crew, but one day he gets annoyed by the captain's cat, Cupcake, and decides to run away.  Life on land is not what he hoped, but when he tries to come back to the ferry, he cannot find his way.  Luckily, someone--whom he wouldn't have expected--comes to find him.

One thing picture books can do is broaden a child's life experience.  Not all children have the chance to ride a ferry, but this book gives a pretty good picture of what a ferry is like. The watercolor and ink illustrations subtly capture the ferry boat experience while helping to tell the story.  This is also a gentle read-aloud about the value of friendship and belonging.
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