Time and Tide: The Old Boat by Jerome Pumphfrey

 

OFF A SMALL ISLAND, AN OLD BOAT RODE THE TIDE.

A young man and a little boy prepare their boat for a fishing trip, the boy with his dip net over his shoulder, while in the shallow waters around the sandbar, marine animals--sea turtles, an octopus, and various fish swim quietly.

Time and tides pass, as the boy grows, and the clear ocean waters become fouled with unnatural flotsam and jetsom--old tires, bottles, plastic forks, and jagged cans, and the sandy shores fill with houses.

FIRST SHALLOW... THEN DEEP.

Catching wants..., keeping wishes on shooting stars, and encountering waves, they ride with dolphins. The now old man and the boy, now grown up, even watch with wonder as a whale sounds nearby.

Now the boat takes the young man alone, sailing farther, far from home, and into a storm, alone and lost in the waves. His boat sinks, and he crawls ashore on his little island, now surrounded by a sea of trash.

It is time to turn that tide.

He fills his net with bottles and plastic cutlery and the paper cups kids collect and is soon followed by a crew of snorkelers in the shallows, and...

THEN DEEP.

And the old boat rests undersea, surrounded by living creatures.

In lovely double-page spreads, artist Jarrett Pomphrey's pastel faux naif illustrations bring his brother Jarrett's spare text to life, telling the story, too, in their place by the sea. The Old Boat (Norton Books, 2021) is a story for those who love boats and beaches and a living ocean, told in two generations of a family who love them, too. Says Kirkus, "A quiet, thought-provoking story of environmental change and the power humans have to slow it."

Share this one with its companion book, The Old Truck