Boats on the Bay - by Jeanne Walker Harvey

About the Book

This large-format picture book portrays a variety of vessels, from houseboats to dredgers, through the course of a busy day on the bay. It features a spectacular double-spread gatefold finale showing a boat parade and fireworks glowing against a city backdrop. Full color.

Book Synopsis

Boats on the Bay is the perfect introduction to the bustling, beautiful world of the sea for toddlers and preschoolers.

Join author Jeanne W. Harvey for a charming, rhythmic look at all the different vessels that glide, float, and chug across the sparkling bay. Inspired by the San Francisco Bay but with universal appeal, the book features a spectacular double-spread gatefold finale showing a boat parade and fireworks glowing against a city backdrop.

From a fishing boat slogging through the fog to a ferry carrying passengers, boats onthe bay get ready for the day.

The simple, rhythmic text is perfect for reading aloud, making it an excellent resource for developing early literacy skills and building vocabulary, as well for celebrating a visit to the City by the Bay.

"This mini intro to our safe harbor is perfect run-up or follow-up for a leisurely stroll along the Embarcadero, bracing bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, or ferry tour around Alcatraz. Take-home message: Take notice." --San Francisco Chronicle

"A celebration of place and a catalogue of the kinds of vessels dear to the hearts of boat enthusiasts young and old." --Publishers Weekly

A KidLitTV-recommended book!

Review Quotes

"A celebration of place and a catalogue of the kinds of vessels dear to the hearts of boat enthusiasts young and old."--Publishers Weekly

"A well-designed book with a simple, approachable text."--Kirkus Reviews

"Simple, serene text coupled with stunning, sweeping illustrations."--Avery & Augustine

"This is McFerrin's debut picture book. . . .He manages to capture textures you want to reach out and touch."

"Harvey's short, simple sentences, many with internal rhymes . . . make this a good fit for emerging readers."--Julie Danielson, Kirkus Reviews, Things That Go Zoom

"This mini intro to our safe harbor is perfect run-up or follow-up for a leisurely stroll along the Embarcadero, bracing bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, or ferry tour around Alcatraz. Take-home message: Take notice."--San Fransisco Chronicle

About the Author

Jeanne Walker Harvey lives in Sausalito, California, where she watches the boats on the bay from her house on the hill. She is the award-winning author of several picture books, including Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines; My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden's Childhood Journey; Honey Girl: The Hawaiian Monk Seal; and Astro: The Stellar Sea Lion. Harvey also serves as a docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Grady McFerrin is an illustrator, designer, and hand-letterer who lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two children. His work has been featured in the New York Times and TheNew Yorker, as well as in children's and gift books, advertisements, and music posters, and has been recognized by the AIGA, Communication Arts, the Society of Illustrators, Print Magazine, and American Illustration. Boats on the Bay is his first full-length picture book.