The Old Boat

A quiet, thought-provoking story of environmental change and the power humans have to slow it.

This tale from the Pumphrey brothers (The Old Truck) excels at showing rather than telling. Tight, vivid prose by Jarrett Pumphrey telegraphs the story's essence, while spreads by Jerome Pumphrey show outings shared by two brown-skinned figures--one young, one old--who together take a green fishing skiff out to open sea. As the pages turn, "the old boat caught wants// and wishes, // waves// and wonders," the child and the adult mature, and the waters fill with garbage--"First shallow.// Then deep." One fateful day, the child, now grown, takes the craft out alone and is overtaken by a storm, the boat sinking just offshore alongside plastic bags, tires, milk crates, and more. Carried back to the beach, the pilot sees that honoring intergenerational memories requires work close to home. Helpers fill garbage bags, and swimmers with nets clean farther out. Soon, fish return to the shallows, sea plants grow, and the sunken boat hosts life. The artwork's sun-bleached shapes have immediate visual impact, and the story conveys the idea of change, both damage and restoration, occurring on a relatively brief human scale. Ages 6-8. Agent (for author and illustrator): Hannah Mann, Writers House. (Mar.)