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Loon Baby
CCBC Review:
“In the great north woods / by a little round lake / in a soft, warm nest / a baby loon lived with his mother.” When the little loon’s mother goes off in search of food one evening, the baby bides his time. “…he waited / and floated / and paddled in circles. The breeze ruffled his fluff.” He doesn’t know how to dive—although he tries. He does know how to imagine: Maybe his mother met a moose. Maybe she had an encounter with a snapping turtle. Why has she been gone so long? Tired and hungry, he decides to paddle home to their nest, but which way is home? Debut author Mary Beth Griffin’s finely paced, lyrical story builds to a dramatic intensity of feeling when the forlorn baby cries out in despair. But hope and happiness are just a turn of the page away in a picture book that ends in with a joyful reunion, a triumphant milestone, and a return to the loving comfort of home. This quietly charged story about a universal childhood anxiety is winningly illustrated by Anne Hunter. Her captivating watercolor and ink illustrations inspire tenderness and heighten emotions from the first page to the last. ©2011 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Anne Hunter
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 2-5
Age Range:
Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3)
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Birds (Fiction)
Fear
Mothers
Worry
Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin
Publish Year: 2011
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780547254876
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Griffin