Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee

January 31, 2000
A chrome kitchen table, a buttercream-yellow Studebaker and other campy 1950s accessories distinguish this ebullient picture book. At daybreak, Mr. Magee, sporting a spiffy straw boater, and his black-and-white beagle, Dee, pack a picnic basket and drive to the seaside. They hop into their red-and-silver motorboat and putter across a hyper-blue ocean, past rocky islands that suggest the Maine coastline. As they admire a pod of whales in the distance, a stray baby whale grows curious. "From under the sea the little whale spied/ Magee and Dee's boat--but not them inside./ He longed for adventure. He wanted to play./ So he bumped at the boat in a most friendly way." Van Dusen (illus. of Silas, the Bookstore Cat) radically shifts perspective from spread to spread. Readers get a bird's-eye view of the boat with the immense whale below it, a lobster's-eye view of the whale beneath the tiny boat and a breathtaking close-up of Magee and Dee, who are airborne when the whale spouts a plume of water. The narrative bounces along on merrily measured meter, which maintains a lighthearted mood as the other whales get Magee and Dee out of trouble. The story ends at nightfall, with the sailors back on dry land. Van Dusen's exacting verse and kitschy, perfectionistic gouaches make this one whale of a tale. Ages 4-8.

May 1, 2000
PreS-Gr 1-Mr. Magee and his dog Dee set out in their boat for a calm day on the water. While they admire a pod of whales, a stray comes up from underneath their boat and gives a big blow. The boat goes flying through the air and lands in a tree. Eventually, the whales come to their rescue and Mr. Magee and Dee return safely home after their crazy adventure. The momentum of the story is fast, and the rhyming text is sure to delight children. The gouache cartoons have a nostalgic 50s look and are bright, comical, and alive with color and detail. Each double-page spread offers a new perspective on the action. A strong debut for Van Dusen.-Hennie Vaandrager, Byron Township Library, Byron Center, MI

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2000
Ages 5^-9. Mr. Magee and his little dog, Dee, love spending time in their boat on the sea. So right after breakfast one early morning, off they sail with Magee at the wheel and Dee on the deck. All goes swimmingly until they encounter a rambunctious little whale who wants to play. Alas, his play becomes the shipmates' folly and in short order Magee and Dee find themselves shipwrecked--not on a desert island but high atop a nearby spruce. Oh, what a predicament! Will the sailors--and their boat--remain hopelessly stuck, 60 feet up? Well, let's just say that where there's a whale, there's a way. Van Dusen's sing-song, rhyming story makes for an agreeable read-aloud while his cheerful, candy-colored cartoon illustrations provide equal fun for the eye. ((Reviewed June 1 & 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2000
Mr. Magee and his dog, Dee, set off for a day on the water, but when a curious young whale accidentally lodges their boat in a tree, it takes the whole pod of whales and a creative solution to get them down. Obviously an over-the-top adventure tale, this rhyming story rolls along with understated humor, contrasting with the willful abandon of the animated, retro-style gouache illustrations.

(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)