I received an electronic ARC from Orca Book Publishers through NetGalley.
Pearson has created an encouraging story for children who may feel shy with others. Readers meet Ellie as she stays by her grandmother rather than playing with other children. Another child invites her to join with adventures on a boat. In reality, this boat has seen better days but when two children combine their imaginations, it becomes an incredible vessel for adventures. After Piper has to go home, Ellie again loses her courage to leave her Nonna's side. Then she sees a young boy who also doesn't seem to be playing with anyone. She introduces him to the magic boat and adventures begin again. Softly colored illustrations bring the text to life for younger readers.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one fell short for me. Maybe kids might like it better,

This is a bit of an odd children's book in two ways.
First, it doesn't just have words that relate to the picture on the page. For example, the page will talk of an octopus, a seal and a fish. Yet the page only shows the octopus. I don't think this is a detriment necessarily; but it is a bit different than usual. Given the topic of the book is to use your imagination perhaps it's appropriate...

Second, it implies that you can only use your imagination when you have a friend/another child to share it with. This is a bit of an odd message in my mind. It says that children need to be playing with another child (as Nona is not enough in the book) in order to have a good time using their imagination. I'm not sure how I feel about this message given that there are many children that play on their own.

Author, Kit Pearson, is a very well known Canadian children's/middle grade writer. In fact the first WWII book I read in Grade 3 was written by her (kicking off my love for historical fiction). The Magic Boat is also illustrated by other Canadians; yet the setting could be any beach, anywhere in the world; whether it's near a lake, ocean or sea.
It's also a good book to show that any child of any race can play with one another. This is fairly standard in Canada these days. Canadians are more likely to be upset about a lack of diversity these days than 'upset' by it. Therefore it's very appropriate that our children are of different racial backgrounds; and that we have a boy/girl friendship at the end. These are subtle things that children will not notice; but that help reinforce the lack of noticing we are trying to instill in the younger generation.

Overall I think this is an okay book. I've given it 3.5 stars (and have rounded up to 4) as I like the idea of the story. But one star comes off because of the weird idea that you have to have a friend or another child in order to have imagination fun.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Let your imagination set sail in The Magic Boat by Kit Pearson and Katherine Farris, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard.

An story with and intergenerational element, the authors tell the tale of Ellie who is very shy. When at the beach with Nonna, Ellie is invited onto a magic boat with Piper, another vacationer. The magic boat takes Ellie and Piper on the most incredible adventures out at sea and in the sky. Unfortunately, Piper has to go home leaving Ellie alone again. The magic boat helps Ellie find her courage to ask another boy from the beach, Sasha to join her.

The power of the imagination is astonishing. How important it is to remember to give our children the time and the space for imagination. Without it the world can be so dull and so lonely. An old rickety boat can become a balloon or a submarine. So much life is waiting to be discovered in our imagination and so many friendships are forged during play.

Gabrielle Grimard’s work is so beautiful and perfect for this little story. Her art has so much life and movement in it. You are automatically whisked away to the beach with Ellie, Nonna and all the other vacationers. You can feel the sun’s warmth in her illustrations and the thrill of the adventure.

A shy young girl visiting her grandmother gets drawn into adventure when she meets a new friend who opens up new worlds through her own imagination. Who knew that a broken down boat could be a vessel that could transport one on adventures unknown?

Each day dawns with new possibility as these two new friends discover that imagination has no limits. Explore the magic of their friendship during their time at the beach one summer. The watercolor illustrations are bright, and happy and will draw readers into the pages of this book.

For or anyone who has been shy or uncertain, this book is a wonderful glimpse at all the potential fun to be had in meeting new people. The Magic Boat will encourage children of all ages to use their imagination to create their own adventures. Exactly what childhood should be about!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of The Magic Boat from NetGalley for the purpose of review. The opinions expressed are my own and no other compensation was received.

What a lovely story of using your imagination to make friends and overcome boredom. A young girl spends days at the beach being too shy to talk to the other children. Then one day she discovers another little girl and her magic boat and suddenly the summer flies by with all kinds of adventures. Wonderful story and gorgeous illustrations.

Ellie is a shy, quiet girl who is afraid to meet new people. After sitting in the beach while her Nonna reads, she finally decides to take a risk and plays with another child on the beach. They have a wonderful day imagining all sorts of adventures. When Piper is not at the beach the next time Ellie and her Nonna go, she approaches another child to share her imaginative adventures with.

This is a book about friendship, imagination, being shy and taking a risk. The fun things Ellie and Piper do at the beach remind the reader about how easy it is to have a good time when you share it with others as well as when you use your imagination. The illustrations were beautiful and really added to the story. My grandson enjoyed the story and loved talking about the illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard. They were so vivid and fanciful. I think this book could easily become a favourite of his. The publisher, Orca Publishing, generously provided me with a copy of this book to read. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

A beautiful book about friendship and imagination. The illustrations in the book are quite beautiful too.

This was a sweet book about making friends and using your imagination. Would be a great storytime book for children.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The magic Boat by Kit Pearson and Katherine Farris was a sweet book about overcoming fears of meeting new people and what happens when that fear is overcome. Ellie is shy and to afraid to meet new people but when Piper invites her to join in her magic boat she discovers the fun that can be had with friends and imagination. After Piper returns to the city Ellie has to find the courage to introduce another lonely boy, Sacha, to the magic boat and adventures in imagination.

The illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard are beautiful and remind me of my favorite beach on the coast of GA.

Thank you NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for the chance to read this book in advance. The advance copy was given to me in return for my review. All opinions are my own and I was not required to leave a positive review.

ARC Copy...gorgeous illustrations and words depicting the shyness of childhood but also all the imagination and wonder that comes with friendship.

The Magic Boat can transport you to new lands, but it's imagination seems powered by friendship. Ellie is shy and has difficulty talking to the other kids on the beach. When Piper shows her the magic boat, they form a short lived friendship. Piper has to go back home and so Ellie decides to share the magic of the boat with another shy boy.

I wish the story had developed the friendship between Ellie and Piper more thoroughly, or spent more time exploring the "magic" of their imaginations. It seems caught in this grey area where there is too much plot for it to be focused on the illustrations and the power of imagination and adventure for younger readers and not enough plot to develop the characters and satisfy older readers. I was also surprised by the decision to feature Piper on the cover when she is only a small part of a larger story.

Overall, though, it's a charming little story with lovely illustrations. Children who love the beach will enjoy looking at the adventures the children have on the magic boat and will hopefully be inspired to have some adventures of their own.

What is imagination? Does everyone have one?

Ellie is bored, and afraid to make friends. One day, she sees a girl in an abandoned, batter board, and asked to come aboard.

Once on board, the friendship and the imagination take them off to the sky, or deep below the water.

Ellie is amazed what the friendship and their joint imagination can do, and manages to take, just a little bit of that, and spread it to others, once this new friend has returned to her winter home.

Georgious pictures. Cute story about friendship and the power of imagination.


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Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Pearson and Farris capture the essence of being shy and turn it on its head. Fantastic illustrations by Grimard bring the story to life. Ellie is a shy, quiet girl who is helped out of her shell by Piper and a magic boat. When Piper leaves the beach to return to the city, Ellie thinks the magic is gone. That is, until she meets a boy named Sasha. Very reminiscent of Puff, The Magic Dragon, this story can be read over and over.