The Blue Canoe

In The Blue Canoe, a young girl, her favourite teddy bear, and her pregnant mother enjoy some special one-on-one time paddling around a lake together. It is a beautiful spring day, and the lake is populated with animals and their young. In this idyllic setting, and with the arrival of the new baby foremost in her mind, the daughter now feels comfortable asking her mother a few questions about the upcoming changes that will occur. These inquiries likely mirror concerns other children may have with the imminent arrival of a new family member: What will it be like to have a new sibling? Can we still do the same familiar family activities? Will my parents be too busy to spend time with me?

“Will our baby be okay in our tippy blue canoe?”

We pass a heron fishing near the mucky shore.

“Dad will take care of our baby while we paddle.”

“Until he’s big like me?”
“Exactly.”

A trout jumps in front of us and a woodpecker hammers a tree nearby.

I chew my lip.

“What if you’re too busy with our baby for me or blue canoe? What if…”

“I’ll be busy or tired sometimes – but nothing is better than canoeing with you.”

I sit a little taller and paddle a little harder.

The blue canoe slowly moves through the water, and its passage reveals many of the favourite lakeside activities which the little girl and her mother have always enjoyed. Each page shows inviting new perspectives and features from nature for the reader to experience. The numerous insects and variety of wildlife that inhabit the area are presented as a hide-and-seek adventure for the reader to locate and name. The book features many full double-page colour illustrations which extend to the edges of the page while other scenes are spotlighted using surrounding negative white space. The colour palette is grounded in the cool tones of the aquatic setting, contrasted with small touches of red in the life jackets.

As the story unfolds, the daughter finds reassurance in her mother’s loving responses to her queries. She begins to imagine what her new sibling will look like and what the baby’s interests might be. She thinks about the new words the baby will need to learn and even considers which animals will be a favourite. With her concerns acknowledged and her confidence restored, the soon-to-be-big-sister feels much more at ease about the future and looks forward to the imminent arrival.

I hope you hurry up and get here, coming-soon baby.

I have a million things to show you and a million things for us to do.

Canadian author Sheryl McFarlane is the author of numerous picture books, including best-selling Jessie’s Island (2012), A Pod of Orcas (2002) and Island in the Salish Sea, with many of her titles short-listed for literary awards. Her timeless classic, Waiting for the Whales (2002) also won the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award for Illustration. The Blue Canoe was inspired by paddling adventures with her own young children and an obvious interest in the natural world of Vancouver Island.

Laurel Aylesworth is an experienced graphic designer from Vermont who has recently entered the world of picture book illustration with My House My Family (2023). Her gentle and charming drawings extend the storyline, especially through her depiction of utterly relatable facial expressions which evoke the emotions of the unfolding conversation. However, the reader should be apprised of an inaccuracy which the illustrator has made on the two facing pages portraying an otter family frolicking and sliding down the bank into the lake water. In the foreground, a mother otter is swimming on her back and holding her baby on her stomach. This behaviour is well-associated with sea otters (a very different species of otters) but is not a practice of river otters. If the illustrator was intending to show both types of otters in these illustrations, this would also be in error as sea otters do not inhabit lakes, nor do they sport the
long gracefully pointed tails of river otters. It is hoped that this visual oversight will be addressed by the publisher.

Overall, this picture book is considered a thoughtful and gently paced read for younger children. The animals, birds, insects, and plant life of the lake are showcased in a subtle nod to the cycle of nature with other young animals being cared for by their parents. The Blue Canoe also holds potential as a springboard to discussions about the changes that happen when a new baby extends the existing family unit. Its tender approach in addressing the process of change provides an encouraging voice.