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The Raft | 
| Author: Jim Lamarche
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $9.21
You Save: $6.74 (42%)
New (5) Used (7) from $9.21
Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 995926
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Pages: 40
Number Of Items: 1
ASIN: B000AI4JYK
Publication Date: April 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Imagine passing a summer drifting up and down a slow-moving river, watching as cranes, turtles, raccoons, otters, and ducks grow accustomed to your presence. Envision days spent poling the raft through lily pads and grasses, glimpsing foxes through the trees on shore. On hot, sticky nights, picture a tent set up on the raft, from which you have an unobstructed view of huge bucks drinking from the moonlit river. Nicky has no idea what he's getting into when his father drops him off for the summer at his grandmother's cottage in the woods. And he's not especially pleased at the prospect. "There's nobody to play with ... She doesn't even have a TV." But this "river rat" is not the normal kind of grandma. Without pushing, she quietly allows Nicky to discover for himself the wonders of river life. Gradually, Nicky's interest in drawing the wildlife he sees brings him closer to his artist grandmother, and to an inner peace that looks as though it will last for a lifetime. Jim LaMarche draws on his own childhood summer experiences for this lovely, serene story. As the light and weather change through the summer, the river reflects all the beauty of the season. LaMarche has illustrated many remarkable and award-winning picture books, including the magical Little Oh and The Rainbabies. (Ages 4 to 9) --Emilie Coulter
Product Description
A flock of birds was moving toward me along the river, hovering over something floating on the water. It drifteddownstream, closer and closer, until finally it bumped up against the dock. Though it was covered with leaves and branches, now I could tell that it was a raft. I reached down and pushed some of the leaves aside. Beneath them was a drawing of a rabbit. It looked like those ancient cave paintings I'd seen in books--just outlines, but wild and fast and free. Nicky isn't one bit happy about spending the summer with his grandma in the Wisconsin woods, but them the raft appears and changes everything. As Nicky explores, the raft works a subtle magic, opening up the wonders all around him--the animals of river and woods, his grandmother's humor and wisdom, and his own special talent as an artist.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 WHAT A MELLOW READ AND THOUGHTFUL READ October 30, 2008
D. Blankenship (The Ozarks)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The Raft by Jim Lamarche is one of those works that will grab you right from the start and keep you turning the pages, page after page. This is one of the better books for children I have had the pleasure of reading for some time now. I suppose that the entire subject is near and dear to my heart. Having spent the majority of my over sixty years in the outdoors, and being an amateur naturalist, this one hit quite close to home.
A young boy is being taken to his grandmother's house for the summer. This child is obviously a city boy and has little enthusiasm for the life his grandmother (a self confessed "river rat") leads. After all, he has no friends there, and heaven forbid, there is NO television! The young boy is never-the-less taken to the woods, Wisconsin, and left for the summer to be with his grandmother. Her house is located by a river and is quite isolated.
This entire little book is a story of discovery; as the young boy learns from his grandmother and from his own observations of the natural world around him. He soon discovers an old raft in the river which changes his life and his perception of the world around him.
The author tells a simple tale here with none of the wild adventures of Huck Finn and his ilk. I like a calm tale now and then to read to the kids and this one fits that liking quite nicely. The text is quite precise and quite readable, either by the child, or better yet, to be read by an adult reader. This is an ideal group reading book. I have used it numerous times in front of large groups of children and even the most dull and insensitive of the group ask for repeat readings. This is an excellent endorsement for any child's book.
The art work in this book is worth the price of the book alone. The author has used mellow, chalk-like tones and colors which capture the mood perfectly. The author is quite a talented follow by any standard. Actually, I would not mind having some of his originals on my wall.
For a pure delightful and thoughtful read, it would be difficult to find a work better than this one. I highly recommend it for any personal, school or public library.
Don Blankenship
The Ozarks
Wonderful for teaching sequencing April 25, 2008
B. Isabel (Texas)
I love using this book in my class. After I read it aloud, I have all my students write down different events in the book. Then, I pass out 8 popsicle sticks to each student. On six of the sticks, they write down events from the story. Then they switch with a partner and put the events in chronological order. They glue their six sticks together in order side to side, with two additional sticks glued under them (holding them together) - creating their own raft. They love it.
Magic of the Natural World December 21, 2007
Mountain Bird (Albuquerque, NM)
I first encountered this book at the school where I teach. The children were captured by the story of this little boy who, at first, didn't want to be out in the country but who quickly became enamored with nature as it, it seems, was enamored with him. The pictures are beautiful. My students wanted to eat up every page and see everything in every picture. They understood just what he was going through and felt the same way about their journeys into nature. This book is a beautiful, gentle and simple reminder of the loving magic that comes from a relationship with the natural world. It's incredibly moving to witness the inner landscape of this little boy changing as he spends more time outside. If you wish that for your children, or whomever you are shopping for, I highly recommend this book. (Or a car ride to the nearest mountain lake.)
Nice Story May 1, 2007
nighttime reader (Chicago, IL)
This is such a nice (feel good) story about a boy discovering his love of drawing and his relationship with his grandmother, who is also an artist. My two year old will sit and listen to this story, although it is probably meant for children a little older (3 and up). I have read a lot bad children's books, but this one is a winner.
Great for kids ages 6-100 October 25, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's a excellent book. You can imagine it really happening well you read it. It is a wonderful fast moving story.
lydia and Hannah
age 7 and 10
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