Bold, bright, and sassy is Collicutt's armada of boats in this picture book for the very young enthusiast. A humble narrative accompanies the fleet: "This boat is made from reeds," says one page; "this boat is made from a tree," says another. Snappy endpapers introduce readers to a couple dozen craft, from junks to catamarans, longships to galleys, and notable boats out of history: the Mayflower, the Endeavour, the Titanic, and the Holland, "the first wholly successful submarine." Inside the book are found boats in bottles, boats being built and launched, boats pulling boats, and boats launching airplanes, boats breaking ice and using paddlewheels, boats in distress, and boats to the rescue. Generally boats facing each other have opposing traits, so there's a boat under a bridge and another on a bridge or one with many lights facing one with only one light. Text is giant-sized in white space under each picture. The artwork is truly impressive—lapidary and full of vim. Collicutt has lavished as much attention on his settings as the boats themselves, with the South Seas, rural Europe, and great urban ports some of the waterscapes evoked, along with the Nile and the Mississippi. "Ready to sail" indeed. (Picture book. 2-5)
