The Perfect Spot - Hardcover

A somewhat headstrong artist in search of "just the right scene" leads off the adventure in this slight picture book. Accompanied by his son--who has his own plans for exploring the woods--Dad brings paints, easel and a big canvas while the boy carries a net, jar and some shortbread. Dad's temper grows short as his ideal location keeps eluding him, so when the boy falls into a stream, he is sure he will be in trouble. But a good splash in the water cools everyone down and saves the afternoon. Blake's matter-of-fact text, narrated by the son, moves along briskly. Although most children will warm to the father-son excursion, some readers may be troubled by Dad's gruff, impatient manner. Nature enthusiasts will appreciate Blake's ( Riptide ; Finding Foxes ) expansive watercolors--occasionally calling to mind the work of Ted Rand--that depict a quiet wooded world of interspersed sun and shade, where deer dart among the trees and rushing water provides the only sound. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

An illustrator who made a fine debut with his oil paintings for Weller's Riptide (1990) turns to watercolor for his own story about an artist on a woodland expedition with his son. (New Jerseyans may recognize the Delaware Water Gap area.) Dad is looking for ``oak trees, shadows, rocks, and water''; the boy, a budding naturalist, hopes for ``a unicorn beetle...and a green cricket frog.'' Along the way, the search occasions some amiable negotiation plus splendidly evocative double spreads (Blake seems to have found a number of ``perfect spots for his paintings); at last, after both fall into the stream and decide it's a laughing matter (which several deer pause to observe), Dad settles down to paint. The interplay between parent and child, each dedicated to his own valuable pursuit, is as appealing as the lovely play of light through trees and water. (Picture book. 4-9) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.