The Floating House

In 1815, the McClure family takes a flatboat containing all their worldly belongings down the Ohio River to Indiana, where they take the boat apart, using the wood to build their new home. Jr Lib Guild.

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.

Ages 5^-8. Many children's books recount odysseys of sturdy pioneers traveling west by covered wagon. Sanders offers an account of the fictional McClure family's 1815 journey down the Ohio River by flatboat. Starting from Pittsburgh in early spring, the McClures float downstream to Jeffersonville, Indiana, with their livestock, farming implements, and household possessions. There, they purchase land and build a house, reusing wood from their boat. Cogancherry's pencil-and-watercolor illustrations help clarify the text and provide many setting and seasonal details. The map on the endpapers will help children locate the towns mentioned in the story and give perspective to the trek. This excellent addition to pioneer units will be especially welcomed by children living in the Ohio River valley. Kay Weisman