Author John Owens’ picture book about a family’s forays into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) is a true delight to “read”. While there is no text, the pages are filled with stories easily discerned from the author’s paintings.
Owens is a freelance illustrator and teaches at the University of Minnesota; he found inspiration from his travels to the BWCAW. He depicts a family of three: camping, paddling, portaging, picking berries, fishing, cooking and just generally enjoying the natural beauty of the woods and water that surrounds them. Along the way they spot moose, beaver, ducks, squirrels, seagulls, dragonflies, and paddle through stands of wild rice and long stretches of open water. They camp along granite shores among the red pine near the shore. At night the stars swim in the Milky Way, during the day ducks swim nearby while squirrels and chipmunks play in the trees.
This is Owens’ first book. It’s great for parents to share with young children. Kids and caregivers can make up stories from the artwork, imagining themselves in the places pictured in these colorful pages. If you can’t get to the BWCAW, this is the next best thing. And, this book will likely inspire you to take a trip to see all of the beauty that exists in our beautiful northland.
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