• Age: 5 to 18
• Grade: k to 12

“A true gem that invites contemplation and reflection in children, who are often too busy to notice the beauty of everyday life.” — School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

In the stillness of a summer dawn, two siblings leave their campsite with fishing rods, tackle and bait, and push a red canoe into the lake. A perfect morning on the water unfolds, with thrilling glimpses of wildlife along the way.

The narrator describes the experience vividly. Trailing a lure through the blue-green depths, the siblings paddle around a point, spotting a moose in the shallows, a beaver swimming towards its home and an eagle returning to its nest. Suddenly there is a sharp tug and the rod bends to meet the water. A few heart-stopping moments later, the pair pull a silvery trout from the water, then paddle back to the campsite to fry up a delicious breakfast.

The poetic text is accompanied by stunningly beautiful paintings rendered on wood panels that give a nostalgic feeling to the story.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.5
Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

JEAN E. PENDZIWOL est l’autrice primée de nombreux livres pour enfants, dont Par une belle nuit d’hiver, finaliste pour un Prix du Gouverneur général et pour le prix TD de littérature canadienne pour l’enfance. Née et élevée dans le nord-ouest de l’Ontario, elle s’inspire de la culture, de l’histoire et de la géographie de la région pour écrire ses récits.

Jean E. Pendziwol is the award-winning author of numerous books for children, including Skating Wild on an Inland Sea, winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, and Once Upon a Northern Night, a finalist for the Governor General's Award and the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. Born and raised in northwestern Ontario, she draws on the culture, history and geography of the region for inspiration for her stories.

Jean E. Pendziwol's profile page

PHIL studied painting, printmaking, photography and design at the Alberta College of Art and the Ontario College of Art and Design. His paintings evoke memories as well as images and feelings from the past. This is his first picture book. He lives in Toronto.

Phil's profile page

• Commended, Kirkus Best Picture Books

A true gem that invites contemplation and reflection in children, who are often too busy to notice the beauty of everyday life.

School Library Journal

The calm, distempered pictures and cool prose of Me and You and the Red Canoe seem to distill the essence of lakeside summertime.

Wall Street Journal

Free-verse poetry full of sensory details, evocative language, and repetition pair with scratchy illustrations in the greens, browns, and blues of the natural world to capture a morning of fishing from a red canoe. … Evocative, lyrical, perfect.

Kirkus Reviews