(2) K-3 Paula's father tells her, "I can't get up just yet. I'm sad." Undaunted, Paula "know[s] what to do." Paula's picture of a sailboat becomes the stage for an imaginary father-daughter sea-set adventure ("Mommy would want us to"). Dufft's art combines Paula's childlike, primary-color paintings and more realistically rendered figures depicting characters and background settings. The text doesn't gloss over the different ways parents and children can grieve.

Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) 4-6 This equally fast-paced, action-driven sequel to The Flooded Earth begins with a storm at sea, three weeks after twins Will and Annalie and their friends escaped Little Lang Lang Island. McConnochie expands the setting of her post-Flood world--sending the characters to distant lands and introducing new cultures as they continue to search for the twins' father--while also exploring the scientific and ethical challenges of climate-altering technology.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) 4-6 In a futuristic world suffering the effects of a catastrophic flood, twins Annalie and Will set sail in search of their father after agents of the dictatorial Admiralty come looking for him. McConnochie creates memorable images of abandoned waterfront communities and effectively develops technical and governing structures. The plot-driven adventure is deepened by interactions and revelations that shape the characters.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Stephen Michael King. "I am the drifting boat / you are the quiet deep / buoy me." A lilting prayer to hope accompanies delicate watercolor and ink illustrations picturing a family (aboard a small wooden sailboat) escaping a barbed-wire landscape. Double-page spreads feature delicate panel vignettes conveying the lengthy journey to safer shores. Mid-journey, a stranded polar bear catches a ride, providing a lighthearted interlude.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(4) YA Escape: Survive series. Teens face natural disasters and evildoers in standalone survival stories. Gloria braves the harsh Arizona desert after an airplane crash (Crash); two frenemies lost at sea overcome the elements and modern-day pirates (Skies); an American church youth group escapes a volcanic eruption and flees Congolese rebels (Wind). The hi-lo narratives are accessible, but the melodramas become tiresome. There are three other fall 2017 books in this series. Review covers these titles: The Evil Wind, Crash, and Red Skies.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(1) PS As in Fire Engine No. 9, Austin live-streams an intense rescue mission: Rescue Squad No. 9's helicopter and boat crews race into a storm to find a stranded kid sailor and a Dalmatian. Dynamic illustrations and forceful text ("S O S / MAYDAY! / MAYDAY! / MAYDAY!"), skillfully incorporated in a propulsive, left-to-right design, telegraph the situation's urgency. Practical, helpful "Water Smart" tips are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(3) 4-6 This adaptation of Tougias's adult book will thrill readers who relish survival stories. A vicious, unexpected storm capsizes a sailboat, nearly destroys the life raft to which three men cling, and threatens the lives of the coast guardsmen sent to rescue them. Tougias describes their peril and courage in exhilarating detail. An insert with photos and maps helps landlubbers comprehend the true events.

Reviewer: Miriam Lang Budin

(3) YA Sixteen-year-old Clementine embarks on a summer-long sailing trip with her family, in time to escape the fallout from a fight with her best friend. Alternating present-day scenes with flashbacks, Walker tells Clem's story with expert pacing, making Clem's growing feelings for her best friend's boyfriend and the resulting crisis feel intensely real. This is a classic teen drama with a fresh setting.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Ian P. Benfold Haywood. One hot day at the beach, Tim sets off by boat for the North Pole to find an iceberg to surprise his grandfather. He's just successful enough in his mission to make their day together even better. The narration, though heartfelt, is wordy and not always authentically childlike. The art, featuring soft outlines and a cool palette, recalls John Burningham's work.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Brotherband Chronicles series. In this new companion series to Ranger's Apprentice, Hal Mikkelson enters Skandian (read: Viking) "brotherband" training as the leader of a group of underdogs. The band's clever thinking and teamwork--and Hal's revolutionary sail design--propel them to victory. Flanagan's sympathetic characters and meticulous descriptions of the band's training (races, strength tests, military-style discipline, sailing) will gratify boys and tomboys alike.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Know Your Sport series. Each how-to volume provides an introduction to the equipment, techniques, and safety measures for the title water sport. Serviceable instructive photographs help illustrate such concepts as tacking a sailboat and paddling a kayak, while engaging stock images capture the excitement on the water. The volumes conclude with racing information, profiling top racers, rules, and tactics. Websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Know Your Sport titles: Sailing and Canoeing and Kayaking.

Reviewer: Carrie Harasimowicz Sullivan

(3) 4-6 Ignored and unpopular, Verity lives invisibly until the Storm docks in the local harbor. Then a vicious, otherworldly grandmother makes life unbearable. Armed with two friends, a strange book, and a mysterious talisman, Verity must find strength to reshape her life's tale. Rich characters and a credible seaside location weave a satisfying narrative of greed, ambition, and the power of stories.

Reviewer: Bethany Templeton Klem

(2) 4-6 Ben's grieving widower father sells their home, buys a boat, and takes Ben and his brothers sailing for a year. Halfway through the narrative, Dad goes missing. Did he fall overboard or commit suicide? Either way, the boys must face a fierce storm on their own. With precise, adrenaline-raising descriptive prose, Herlong recounts their seemingly superhuman struggle against wind and wave.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2009

(4) PS Lois Lenski's charming books about Mr. Small will continue to charm small readers, but did they really need to be colorized? [Review covers these titles: The Little Airplane and The Little Sailboat.]

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2037

(2) K-3 A 1984 Boston Globe-Horn Book honor book, Bang's modern adaptation of the Japanese folktale "The Crane Wife" is illustrated with hauntingly beautiful, realistic artwork that does full justice to the tale. Originally done in calligraphy, the text in this reissue is in a large, clear type that, while less elegant, is certainly easier to read.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc. | Horn Book Magazine Issue: October, 1983

(4) K-3 "One day I chanced to stop for t," begins a rebus-style tale of an all-alphabet crew's quest for buried treasure. The clever concept works with varying degrees of success throughout the rhymed text. Jovial watercolors are sprinkled with speech balloons bursting with corny alphabet puns.

Reviewer: CHristine Sarrazin

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by David Diaz. Sophie is determined to join her three uncles and two (boy) cousins on their transatlantic sail to England, home of her beloved grandfather Bompie. Told through the pages of Sophie's journal, the novel is rather too obviously a voyage of self-discovery. What works best is the protean nature of Sophie's relationships with her uncles and cousins, all of whom have some self-discoveries to make of their own.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2000

(3) K-3 A retired pirate sails a model ship in Central Park, only to be bombarded by a retired queen's reckless ship, complete with mini cannonballs. Eventually, the two call a truce and realize they have much in common. Young readers will be intrigued by the miniature battle on the pond. Priest's striking artwork aptly emphasizes the action within each spread.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(4) 4-6 Setting sail, piracy, shipwrecks, and mermaids are all subjects of this compilation. Both classic and contemporary, some readings suffer from their excerption. Prose includes selections from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows and Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle; "The Jumblies" by Edward Lear and "O to Sail" by Walt Whitman are some poetic offerings. Illustrations by a variety of artists decorate the handsome volume. Glos.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute