Paddle-to-the-Sea

Plot Summary 

     Paddle to the Sea is a historical fictional book, written by Holling Clancy Holling,  describing the travels of a wooden carved Indian. The story begins with a young Native Canadian boy working tirelessly to carve a small wooden Indian in a canoe. He works hard to design the small canoe so that it will stay afloat and right side up in water.  He carves “Please put me back in water, I am Paddle-To-The-Sea” into the bottom so that this figure will continue on his adventure toward the sea. The ...

            He models the canoe after a dream in which the canoe floats with the water shed from the top of a hill in Canada, through all of the Great Lakes, and into the Atlantic Ocean. He learned that water from Canada eventually flows into the Atlantic Ocean in school. As the winter snow begins to melt, the man in the canoe (Paddle) slides down the canyon into the pond where his journey to the Atlantic begins. As Paddle floats through the Great Lakes, he encounters several natural and man-made obstacles, including animal and human characters. His experience is described the text and portrayed in pictures. Maps are used to show his location.

Textual Elements

The story is divided into 27 chapters, each containing a page of text and vignettes, followed by full-bleed illustrations. The text describes Paddle’s experience throughout his journey in third-person narration. All of the text is the same font. 

Artistic Elements 

                All of the illustrations in the book are representational art—they portray literal, realistic depictions of the story. Most of the pictures are painted using watercolors, though some of the pictures are black & white. Most of the illustrations are intended to add information to the text, and the colors convey mood. For example, the mechanics of a breeches buoy are shown in an illustration from chapter 15. The ‘dark’ mood of chapter 14 is well portrayed by the colors of the full-bleed illustration.  

Analysis and Critique 

The story’s genre is realistic historical fiction, although the story’s central theme of how water flows from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean is contemporary relevant. It allows readers to think about how water flows, develop an understanding of large-scale water flow, and offers additional information about the environment of the Midwestern/Eastern waterways.

The depiction of the “Indian boy” and Paddle could be considered racist, both in the text and illustrations, as it subtly reinforces Native American stereotypes. The main character himself, being an Indian in a canoe, suggests a primitive mode of transportation. The message that the boy carves on the bottom of the canoe might make a reader believe he is poor at English. The small cabin that the boy lives in could suggest poverty. His reference to the “Sun Spirit” could suggest factual ignorance.

Citation

Holling, Clancy Holling. Paddle-to-the-Sea. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1969.

Plot Summary

      Paddle-to-the-Sea was written and illustrated by Holling Clancy Holling. It was first published in 1941 then renewed in 1969. Paddle-to-the-Sea is an Historical Fiction picture book. This is true because in the story, the characters an “Indian boy” carves a miniature Indian in a canoe, who is named “Paddle”, and lets him free to float throughout the Great Lakes. This is an event that could have actually happened. The setting starts in the Great Lakes and ends in the Atlantic Ocean. The time of this adventure would be approximately 1940’s. The plot would be the journey that Paddle takes throughout the Great Lakes. The point of view is in third person. The theme is that the audience takes a ride through the Great Lakes and its geographical and historical setting.

Textual Elements

Artistic Elements 

     The style of art used in Paddle-to-the-Sea is naïve art. This is true because the illustrations ignore traditional styles of art. The mead used is water color and pencil. On the left hand side of the pages, all of the pictures that surround the text are made with a simple lead pencil. The right hand sides of the pages are done in vibrant water colors. The illustrations are so in depth that book is a proud winner of a Caldecott Honor award.

Analysis and Critique

    There are some controversies within Paddle-to-the-Sea. For instance the author gives the Indian’s a language and tone throughout the book that seems to be very stereotypical and comes off very racist. Also the “Indian boy” isn’t given a name. It seems to me that the author is trying to give off a sense that all Indians are the same.

     In short, I thought the book is a great educational tool for teachers who are planning on teaching history or geography of the Great Lakes.

Citation

Picture Book Citation

Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Illus. Illustrator First and Last Name. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

One Author (No Illustrator)

Last Name, First Name. Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

Two or More Authors: 1)  List the names in the order they appear on the title page. 2) Only the first author's name should be reversed: Last Name, First Name. 3) Use a comma between the           authors' names. Place a period after the last author's name.

Last Name, First Name and 2nd Author First Name Last Name. Book Title. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication.

References

Will need to look up format for the type of source used.