Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man (Picture Puffins)

Whenever Burt Dow, who lives in a snug little house on the Maine coast, sets out to sea, his pet giggling gull goes along. But this time, it will take all his might and some plain old ingenuity to save him and the gull from a raging storm.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book, in the Classic Tradition

By Amidonian - July 7, 2004

This book was one of my favorites growing up. Unlike other favorites that I found weren't so great anymore, this one has held up. It is much better than either Blueberries for Sal or Make Way for Ducklings because there are more plot turns and the color in the book just pours and splashes out of the book. The illustrations are just fabulous. The book also uses nice alliteration and allows you to read it straight out or in voice (as a new englander or maybe Arlo Guthrie in Alice's restaurant - a sing-songy cadence -- check back after you read it twice and see what I mean). There are some repeated parts (descriptions of sounds and the leaky parts of the boat) that make the book fun to listen to for pre-readers as well as aurally rocking your child to sleep. My son has liked this since he was about 5 (now 7)A terrific story with great illustrations.

a winner - loved it thirty years ago, love it still!

By Daniel Mackler - February 14, 2009

when i was a kid my grandparents lived next door to robert mccloskey, and he gave me a copy of this book. i fell in love with this book then, and still love it. it's light-hearted, creative, tension-building - and like all of his books, wonderfully illustrated.

mccloskey takes us to a time and place that mixes america from the 40s or 50s with the fanciful land of his imagination - a great combo!

burt dow is an gentle old sea salt, and his seagull, the whales, and his adventure spun magic in my memory!

i hope all kids get a chance to read this story!

Whales with Band-Aids

By LVR - August 2, 2005

My almost 5 year old son LOVES this book! I am not sure what is his favorite part - the colorful boat, the inside of the whale, the bandaids - but we have read this book at least 3 or 4 times a week for the past four weeks.