Song of the River

A child who lives in the mountains wishes to see the sea. His grandfather promises to take him someday, but the impatient boy starts out alone. He follows a snowy brook, singing, “Come with me. Come with me. I will take you to the sea,” and trailing the water as it broadens to a creek, a waterfall, and a wide river. Here, he is caught up in the bustle of an industrial town and thinks that the river has ceased its seaward movement. Beckoned by the waters once again, he continues on, finally finding himself before the expansive ocean, which sings to him of salt and “secret places where whales/ give birth to their young,” of wharves and waterfalls. With graceful, rhyming poetry, Cowley articulates the connectedness of nature, while Andrews renders the rush and earnestness of the boy’s journey through striated light, city smoke, and the broad, blue sea. Ages 5–8. (Aug.)