This is such a sweet book. The drawings are wonderfully detailed. I love the idea of this ship where Maggie and her brother live, have adventures, grow a garden, and even have animals. I didn't come across this book till I was an adult, but I still enjoy it and would certainly have loved it as a child. ( )

It is a great realistic fiction book in watercolors because it tells a story that could happen in the real life and it makes readers think. The story goes like this: A little girl’s wish to sail for a day on a boat named for her "with someone nice for company" comes true. Maggie’s little brother is that “someone nice” and the two of them spend the day on their little boat living the sea life. The boat is fully equipped with an apple, peach and orange tree bearing fruit. There is an abundance of fresh eggs and milk to be had from various chickens and the goat. Maggie herself fishes and serves up sumptuous meals of lobster and peaches with cinnamon and honey for dessert. The day is simple and homey, the only real source of concern a thunderstorm that crashes and booms towards the end of the day. Even then, Maggie thoughtfully battens down the hatches and plays her fiddle to her brother, tucked snugly in his bed. ( )

Margaret Barnstable goes to bed one night wishing for a sailing ship, and a day of adventure to be shared with nice company, and wakes up the next morning to find herself on board the Maggie B - a boat with a nice snug cabin, and a farm on the poop deck - together with her baby brother James. A day of calm pleasure follows, as Maggie cares for her brother, prepares their meal - a process involving everything from fishing to cooking - and weathers a storm inside their cozy cabin...

Like the friend who recommended it (thanks, Miriam!), I'm a little hard-pressed to say just why I find The Maggie B so appealing, although appealing it certainly is! The narrative isn't particularly exciting, and I have difficulty imagining that, with a magical ship at my disposal, I'd want to spend the day cooking and child-minding (color me un-domestic, but what about exploring?), but the gentle unfolding of Maggie's day still appealed to me, for all that. I suspect that Haas' delightful illustrations, which alternate between black-and-white and glorious color, have something to do with it... ( )

I liked the flights of fancy in this story - that a little girl's dream is to have a day on a boat with some good company and then she gets it (very vaguely implied as she dreams that night) and it's a boat that has a toucan and garden on it. It was nice to see that her younger brother was the good company - so often younger siblings are depicted as annoying or to be avoided. The little girl is self-sufficient taking care of the cleaning, boating, cooking, and child-care. The songs and rhymes included made me want to know the tunes so I could sing them myself and imagine how that counting rhyme could work in baby storytime. The only thing that dates the book really is that alternating spreads are in black and white (I assume this was a cost-saving measure as opposed to deliberate artistic choice given that they all seem to be done in the same watercolor medium). Overall, I'm definitely glad I looked this one up - looks great for ages about 4-7ish. ( )

1.寝る前にお星様にお願いした夢がかない、弟と二人で自分の船で、理想の一日を送った女の子のお話。
　女の子はおままごとの感覚で食事の支度、弟の面倒をみていたのでしょうか。
表紙の絵に惹かれて手に取った本です。

2.This is a story of a wish come true.

3.1000字

4.10分 ( )