The Floating House - Softcover

Sanders, Scott Russell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0689830491 ISBN 13: 9780689830495

Publisher: Aladdin, 1999

Synopsis

It is 1815 and the adventurous McClure family is traveling by flatboat on an exciting journey down the Ohio River. Young Mary and Jonathan watch for sandbars and dangers up ahead, while their parents steer. The boat is loaded with everything the pioneers will need for their new life -- including their nervous horse, cow, pig, and mule. The McClures are eager to reach the country downstream where the rich farmland costs just a dollar an acre and people say you can plant a stick and it will grow. As the brave family journeys toward their future home, readers come along on a vivid trip into the past.

About this title

About the Author

Scott Russell Sanders grew up in Ohio. After receiving his Ph.D. from Cambridge University, he moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where he and his wife have reared two children. He is Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Indiana University. The author says, "I am trying to help children imagine history through the sharing of past lives, especially the lives of families who made their way into the wild heart of the continent."
His books for children have been honored by awards from the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Science Teachers Association, and the American Library Association. His books for adults have received the Great Lakes Book Award, the Mark Twain Award, and the Lannan Literary Award.
Helen Cogancherry's interest in historical research is reflected in her illustrations for Warm as Wool and Here Comes the Mystery Man by Scott Russell Sanders. She lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-In a story set in 1815, Mary and Jonathan McClure join their parents and numerous other families on an adventurous journey down the Ohio River. The McClures have been patiently waiting for winter's end aboard a loaded flatboat by a riverbank in Pittsburgh. Spring thaw makes travel on the river possible again; they set off, looking forward to a new life on fertile land in the territory that was to become Indiana. Sanders has written a descriptive narrative of these courageous people who loaded all their possessions, tools, animals, and family onto a flatboat or raft bound for a new home on unsettled land. The daily struggles and triumphs on the river are effectively portrayed throughout the narrative. Watercolor paintings in shades of blues, greens, and browns complete the historical perspective, detailing just about every aspect of this hardworking life. In addition, the children's sense of wonder, anticipation, and excitement is clearly defined through both text and illustrations. A pleasantly written and visually attractive picture book.
Rita Soltan, Baldwin Public Library, Birmingham, MI
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Aladdin
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0689830491
• ISBN 13: 9780689830495
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Cogancherry Helen