River

At the conclusion of this beautiful book, readers will feel they have traveled a journey themselves... Expansive content impressively and beautifully presented.

Evocative... An author's note, sources, and information about the river round out this beautiful book.

PreS-Gr 3–Cooper loves to take children on experiential journeys, which he did so expertly in titles such as Train, Farm, and Beach. This time the excursion is on a mighty river—the Hudson—and the conveyance is a canoe. The book opens with a woman—the solo traveler—waving goodbye to her family and setting off from the headwaters of the river in the Adironacks on a 300-mile trek to New York Harbor. Such an ambitious outing takes extensive training and careful planning, but this woman is up to the task and there’s no better way of appreciating the river ecosystem than this kind of up-close and intensely personal observation. Cooper captures it all in his gloriously expansive and fluid pencil and watercolor artwork in vignettes and full-bleed spreads. The woman’s days consist largely of “paddling, sketching, eating, camping, and paddling again.” She spots a variety of wildlife—moose, otters, mergansers, eagles, seals—crashes through a series of rapids, portages around a dam, and follows the locks at a waterfall. With each day’s progress downriver, the countryside shifts from farmland to villages and larger towns. The woman has to think fast, takes her lumps in a squall, and paddles on until she reaches the city, and reunites with her family. Beyond her bragging rights, she has exhilarating stories to share and fond memories to hold onto, until her next adventure.VERDICT A marvelous vehicle for nature lovers, armchair travelers, and aspiring boaters and explorers.--Luann Toth, School Library Journal

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

By the time she rejoins her family, we have become so absorbed in her experience that, much as she had done on the river, we now notice every detail.

* Cooper's quiet, fluid present-tense prose is perfectly suited to the rhythm of a river; the narrative delicately evokes the way solitude changes a person's relationship with the world around her. — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review 

Praise for Big Cat, Little Cat

A Caldecott Honor Book

* With quiet grace, Cooper delivers the message that love persists through loss. — Publishers Weekly, starred review

* Cooper's gentle tale of the loss of a feline friend is perfect bibliotherapy for those who have lost a loved pet. — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* Kids won't have to be cat lovers to find this endearing and quietly reassuring, while young cat owners will want to tell the tale of their own feline friends. — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

* A gentle, loving look at the life cycle of pets; young readers will be able to gain confidence in retelling the story using the text and the pictures." — School Library Journal, starred review

* Cooper's thick black lines produce figures full of kinetic energy and personality. The circular nature of the story is beautifully reinforced by the repetition in both art and text, and the result is at once realistic and comforting. — The Horn Book, starred review

Praise for 8: An Animal Alphabet

* Cooper's loose watercolor images are arranged harmoniously against spacious white backgrounds... The heavy paper will withstand repeated viewings, which are guaranteed. Don't get behind the eight ball: order now; it's great fun. — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* It's a feast of fauna! — Booklist, starred review

* Illustrated with joy, this is an alphabet book to pore over, worth adding to any collection. — School Library Journal, starred review

* A skillfull blending of counting and matching elements into an animal-themed abecedary. — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Praise for Train

* A poetic, beautifully conceived book. — Booklist, starred review

* The loose watercolor-and-pencil artwork hums with activity and energy. — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* Cooper's signature sun-bleached watercolors beautifully convey human achievements and nature's grandeur through both detail and a range of scale. — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Praise for Farm

* It's as thorough and pleasing an introduction to a farm as one could ask of a picture book. — The Horn Book Magazine, starred review

* The graceful text and serenely stunning illustrations create a portrait both reverent and realistic. — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Praise for Beach

Society of Illustrators Gold Medal (2006) 

Cooper's portrayal of a day at the shore is generous with such minutiae; his fondness for his subject is evident and infectious. — School Library Journal