''Paddle-to-the-Sea'' is a 1941 children's book, written and illustrated by American author/artist

Holling C. Holling Holling Clancy Holling (born Holling Allison Clancy, August 2, 1900 – September 7, 1973) was an American writer and illustrator, best known for the book '' Paddle-to-the-Sea'', which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1942. ''Paddle to the Sea'' won ...

and published by

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

. It was recognized as a Caldecott Honor Book in 1942. The film ''

Paddle to the Sea ''Paddle to the Sea'' (French: ''Vogue-à-la-mer'') is a 1966 National Film Board of Canada short live-action film directed, shot and edited by Bill Mason, based on the 1941 children's book '' Paddle-to-the-Sea'' by American author and illustrator ...

'', based on this book but omitting many details, was produced by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary fi ...

in 1966, directed by Bill Mason. It was nominated for an Oscar. A

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other bare ...

based on the book was opened in 2016 in the town of Nipigon, where the fictional journey begins.Paddle-to-the-sea Park
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Plot

At Lake Nipigon, Ontario, a First Nation boy carves a wooden model of an “Indian” in a canoe. On its side he roughly carves the words "Please put me back in the water. I am Paddle-to-the-Sea" and sets it free to travel the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

to the Atlantic Ocean. The story follows the progress of the little wooden canoe and paddler on their journey. It travels the Nipigon River wedged in a log of wood, and is rescued by a French-Canadian lumberjack just as it is going under the saw. He puts it back in the water. It is picked up several more times, but the inscription is always obeyed. At one point, a man finds the inscription very worn and adds a metal plate bearing similar words. As the canoe travels, those who send it on its way scratch their locations on the metal plate. It traverses all five Great Lakes (including going over

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

) and the St. Lawrence River. Finally after four years it arrives off Newfoundland at the Atlantic Ocean. There it is retrieved for the last time in the nets of a French trawler on the Grand Banks, and is taken to France. Its long journey is written up in a French newspaper. A copy arrives at the sawmill on the Nipigon River, sent from France by the cousin of the lumberjack. By chance, the original maker, now a grown man, is working there as a local guide and he also sees the newspaper. He recognizes his handiwork, but does not draw attention to it, and the book ends with his words of pride, spoken only to himself. Each movement of the canoe is celebrated by a short chapter, suitable for reading aloud to a child and decorated with black-and-white sketches and at least one full-page watercolor, all by the author. The sketches accompany the larger story and tell smaller narrative stories of their own: for example, one sketch demonstrates how a sawmill works by visually outlining the progress of a log of timber towards a mechanical saw.

References

External links

* {{Canoeing and kayaking Canadian children's books 1941 children's books Children's books adapted into films Houghton Mifflin books American children's books Caldecott Honor-winning works Canoeing mass media American picture books Canadian picture books

Plot

Further reading

References

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