In The Red Canoe: Book Review

by Josée

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In The Red Canoe is a beautiful story written by Leslie Davidson and illustrated by Laura Bifano. The gentle ballad throughout the book tells the story of a grandfather and his grandchild as they discover nature’s surprises while paddling a sturdy red canoe. As the red canoe glides along the lake, they watch beavers, admire duckling, catch frogs, observe an osprey and wonder at the beauty of dancing swallows as the sun sets. With nightfall comes twinkling stars and special wishes of many more adventures with grandfather in the red canoe. As the story comes to an end we are reminded of the fragility and beauty of our world and of the lives of our loved ones.

The first time I read In The Red Canoe to my children it was simply magical. The beautiful illustrations invoked a sense of wonder in us while the story beckoned us to slow down and appreciate the beauty of nature. My daughter enjoyed the rhyming stanzas so much that she pointed them out on every page, and my youngest refused to turn to any other page but the one with the frog on it. Truly, this is one of those books that I would be happy reading over and over again to my children.

Leslie Davidson, the author, lives in Revelstoke, British Columbia, with her husband and grandchildren. Her inspiration for In The Red Canoe came from her husband who is portrayed as the grandfather in the story. Leslie’s husband built a sturdy red canoe almost fifty years ago and his love for the outdoors has been passed down to his children and his grandchildren. No longer able to paddle the red canoe, her husband’s legacy continues on and is captured in the heartwarming story In The Red Canoe.

The giveaway: One lucky person can win a signed hardcover copy of In The Red Canoe by leaving a comment at the end of this post. If you share this giveaway with your friends on social media post a second comment below stating “I shared this post on…(Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.)!” for a second entry.

The giveaway will close on Sunday, December 11th at midnight. Good luck!

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30 comments

Jenn Fletcher December 1, 2016 - 10:03 am

Wow, I haven’t heard of this book but it’s going on my wish list for sure! My daughter would love it.

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Desiree Stiles December 1, 2016 - 10:22 am

Looks like an amazing book!

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Desiree Stiles December 1, 2016 - 10:24 am

Now that my own children are grown and don’t need me to read to them anymore, I shall start doing it for my grandchildren! There is great adventure awaiting hidden in books for all who learn the love of reading.

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Tanya December 1, 2016 - 11:09 am

Lovely sounding book! Resonates with our chosen activities during the summer. ..

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Terry Melvin December 1, 2016 - 12:03 pm

A wonderful book written by a school friend of mine. I know the perfect family with two little guys that would love this book.

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Elke Finley December 1, 2016 - 12:17 pm

It’s a very beautiful book! Every child and adult will love this treasure.

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Cathy Arboleda December 1, 2016 - 12:18 pm

What a delightful book written by on of my favorite elementary school teachers. Looks beautifully illustrated too!

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SallyGodfrey December 1, 2016 - 12:30 pm

I have 2 grandson who would love this book.

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Sally Godfrey December 1, 2016 - 12:31 pm

Would love a copy.

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Preenu December 1, 2016 - 2:04 pm

Sounds like a beautiful book!

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Karen December 1, 2016 - 2:10 pm

Sounds beautiful. I would love to share it with my kids and students!

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Eveline Bergeron December 1, 2016 - 2:26 pm

Looks like a really good book for our grandkids! We live by a lake in B.C. Think this would mean a lot to one of our lucky grandchild!

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Amy December 1, 2016 - 2:42 pm

Would love to win this for a present for my nephew!

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Julie December 1, 2016 - 4:04 pm

Illustrations are wonderful! I could use this book in my classroom!!

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Sara December 1, 2016 - 6:20 pm

This book looks great!

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Ellie December 1, 2016 - 7:08 pm

I have heard such wonderful things about this book, but it has sat on my wish list. It sounds like a book my Squishy would love, and then beg his Grandpa to build a red canoe.

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Ellie December 1, 2016 - 7:10 pm

Shared to our twitter and Facebook pages
frogs-snails-geckotails.com

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Valerie December 1, 2016 - 8:19 pm

Thank you for sharing this beautiful book with us. I’m so anxious to read it for myself. I know my kids and I will enjoy it. We were lucky enough to inherit a well-loved red canoe from grandparents this summer…would be great for have the book to go along with!

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Nicolette December 1, 2016 - 8:30 pm

Looks so beautiful! We have a canoe, but it’s silver and has holes covered in duct tape 🙂 We love floating around in our little pond finding wild treasures. Thanks so much for posting in The Nature Inspired Book Club!

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Leyla Angelique Yeung December 1, 2016 - 8:51 pm

Would love this for my little guy, who has been boat obsessed since he was one and a half. Thank you for the opportunity!

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Rebecca December 1, 2016 - 10:08 pm

This would make a lovely Christmas present for anyone of my kiddos. Thanks for sharing, I’d never heard of it!

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Michael Barton December 2, 2016 - 8:57 pm

I haven’t heard of this book but it looks like a charming story and the art is beautiful.

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Michael Barton December 2, 2016 - 8:57 pm Reply
Kira December 2, 2016 - 9:23 pm

I would love to share this book with my first grade class and with my nieces and nephew!

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Kira December 2, 2016 - 9:25 pm

Ps-I shared this post on Twitter ?

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Carla December 3, 2016 - 1:12 am

What a beautiful setting to share this book and great photography!

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Carla December 3, 2016 - 1:14 am

I shared as Inside Outside Michiana on Facebook!

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Cynthia December 3, 2016 - 7:40 am

This book looks lovely and your photos really feature and promote the story so well. I love it that the author is from beautiful British Columbia! That is my home too.

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Amie Gaudet December 5, 2016 - 9:04 pm

I would love to win a copy of this book to review on my blog. Thanks for the chance.

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Linda December 6, 2016 - 4:50 pm

This looks like a fabulous book. I really want books that highlight the outdoors.

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