Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Grandma Drove the Lobsterboat
Illustrator: Amy Huntington
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Down East Books, 2012 ISBN: 978-1608930043
Today it is Labor Day, and everyone in town is excited because today is the day of the annual Labor Day Lobster Bake. Instead of working, Grandma is talking the day off, and she and her son Bill are out in the family boat getting lobsters. Grandma’s littlest grandson, Little Billy, is out on the boat too and he is worried. The waves are so choppy that the bell buoy is clanging loudly, and the fog is getting so thick that the fog horn is blaring. Grandma isn’t worried though. They have caught lots of lobsters for the Lobster Bake, and her son Bill will soon be steering the boat dockwards.
It then becomes clear that the only place Bill is going to go is to the side of the boat; poor Bill is horribly seasick. There is no way he is going to be able to turn the boat around and steer it back to shore. Little Billy calls his uncle Buster on the radio to ask him for help, but Buster has problems of his own. Next, Little Billy tries to call his uncle Burt, but he cannot get through. Somehow Little Billy and Grandma are going to have to get the boat back to shore on their own.
In this amusing title, children will see how an indomitable grandmother and her little grandson find a way to bring home the lobsters. It is hard not to laugh at the pickles Grandma’s sons get into, and at the near disasters she manages to somehow avoid.
This is one of three picture books about Little Billy and his trusty grandmother.
