This book is an illustrated depiction of a famous sea chantey. A sea chantey is a song (from the French word "chanter") sung by English and American sailors in the days of heavy labor aboard frigate boats. The rhythmical dullness of the labor led to the creation of folk songs that would cheer the men during the performance of unpleasant tasks. The illustrator Michael McCurdy provides illustrations for the text of this song, which supplies an appropriate boat term for each letter of the alphabet. Above each image is the verse of the song in the original dialect, and below each image is a definition of the word followed by an elucidation of the meaning of any other words in the song that would cause a modern-day reader confusion.

This is a great book for readers of all ages, who may be curious to know about the many parts of a U.S. Navy frigate. There is a diagram included in the back that labels all the separate parts, in case one is still curious after the detailed and clear illustrations that accompany the song. Certain words like, "gaff", "jib", "mizzen peak", and "grog", which lack explanation in the song, are also elucidated by definitions. A wonderful book for adults and children alike! ( )

This book goes through the alphabet with word examples that relate to sailors and their lives at sea. This book is a great supplemental book to English/Language Arts in that it builds vocabulary by introducing children to new terms and definitions using the alphabet and rhyming patterns they may already be familiar with. ( )

Another for my alphabet book collection. The text is a sea chantey from the 1800's, along with explanations of the terms. McCurdy's illustrations are very fine, with some stunning perspectives. At the end of the book is an image of a frigate, with all the parts named in the song labeled. There is great attention to detail, as evidenced by the simple image of a compass rose on the back cover.

Very nice indeed.