Member Reviews

Loved seeing the flow of container ships. My kids learned a lot and had a lot of questions, many which were answered by the fun facts at the end of the book. We are amazed at how massive these ships are and the sheer volume they can transport. The pictures are excellent.

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I work in International Trade as an Export Compliance Manager and have a 7 year old. This was a great explanation of the industry I work with. The book gave empathy for those doing the hard work of moving products and an understanding of why we have a global economy. As an adult the F&Qs made it easier to answer the questions my daughter had. I will probably buy this book in print for my desk, a lot of adults could also benefit from this book.

One note, you forgot Compliance in possible jobs. 😉

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Told from the point of view of the ship, I Ship is an exciting read aloud about shipping containers and the ship(s) that carries them. It not only shows transportation by ship but a lot of other forms as well. This is a fantastastic book for those children who love all forms of transportation! This would be an excellent resource in a classroom (says a former teacher!) too. I Ship has lovely lyrical language and is chock full of interesting information. I love that we get to see inside the containers – it feels like we are in on a secret! The illustrations are beautiful, colorful, and give us great perspective on the ship and the waterways it travels. There are even tense points where we aren’t sure if the ship will make it! Very exciting!! I Ship has extensive and informative backmatter with a bonus: the author lists differnent types of jobs at sea.

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The illustrations are beautiful in this book. The font is gorgeous.
My 5 year old however was often confused and lost with many words that were to big for her vocabulary. We had to stop and explain a lot of words and give synonyms for them. It's a great niche subject that would be great in lots of libraries I'm just not certain the age they were intending this to be for. My 8 year old would say this is to kiddish, for younger kids. But my 5 year old was often confused.

Thank you for the arc.

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Lively, lyrical text and colorful illustrations make a topic I normally wouldn't think twice about come to life. This book is a delight in so many ways. It begs to be read aloud, and kids will have fun studying the details on every single spread. This will appeal to kids who love vehicles and transportation, and informative back matter makes this a great addition to elementary social studies classes studying trade and the global economy.

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"I Ship" is an absolute delight of a picture book that gives children a look at the shipping industry. The simple style of the illustrations belie just how much detail has gone into them—there's so much for kids to examine and explore. The text has some rhymes and alliteration, explaining the complexities that go into a container ship's journey, but it's the illustrations that are really the standout. (More detailed text at the end of the book provides more information for kids—or adults—who want to know a bit more, including a glossary, explanations of some key jobs, and some quick facts.) There's also a nod to the Suez Canal blockage of 2021, which might be of more interest to adults than to child readers (kids of an age to read this are almost certainly too young to remember that particular Internet drama!) but is entertaining nonetheless.

I would have loved this as a kid, and I wasn't even the sort of kid who was into trucks and ships and planes and so on. But I would have spent *ages* looking at the illustrations, what with the cargo and the land details and the soothing colors. What a great read.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

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Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this title. Ever since the “Ever Given” ship was stuck a few years ago, I’ve been fascinated by container ships and this is a really interesting look into how they operate. It’s simple enough for early elementary, but the facts at the back of the book give a lot of detail that will interest older readers and potentially serve as a jumping off point for inquiry. All vehicle/construction-loving readers will like this book! A definite purchase for my library.

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This is a very niche book, in my opinion - I was surprised to find a children's book about container shipping! While it's definitely unique and I think boat-loving children would enjoy it, I found the prose to be clunky instead of rhythmic, and actually think having the prose rhyme would make it a stronger read and more beneficial to youth. The illustrations are lovely, however!

Thank you to Lerner and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

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A great book on a little-addressed topic. Lovers of boats and commerce unite in understanding how these ships work to keep going, and the problems they can encounter in the process. A great addition to any library on shipping boats and how they work.

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Thank you to Lerner Publishing Group, Millbrook Press, and NetGalley for an e-ARC to read and review. This was a fun and educational read about how the goods we all use get shipped in shipping containers, through canals, and all over the world. It's a great intro to how we think about where our products come from, and a look at global trade, but with colorful and engaging illustrations and terminology that kids who are super into boats and big machinery will enjoy.

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It’s an educational children’s book about how items are moved about the world. The flow and wordsmithing are a little choppy and depending on the age range may not hold young readers’ attention. The illustrations are beautiful in their simplicity which really draws one into the ocean and highlights the content. Needs some polishing but has potential.

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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A great picture book about what ships do, what they carry, and why they are essential.

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The illustrations are the star of this book. They are gorgeous and kids will love looking at them. The text is a little clunky to read out loud and it is LONG but I’ll still be buying this for the library for my transportation obsessed students to read.

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Such a cute book. My 4 year old son loved the illustrations and the facts and information I Ship provided to him. He liked how it had a bit of a story. Now he's walking around repeating information about shipping containers 🤣

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Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the eARC! This is a perfect book for boat lovers. It also shows how important boats are for transporting different items around the world. It also shows what happens when the boats get stuck in the canals- delaying the deliveries of the goods on ship. Overall, a cute book with bright illustrations, perfect for boat lovers or those learning about how we export/ get items from other countries.

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Loved this book! My dad works in the shipping business so that is what first drew me to this book. So many young kids especially preschool age are obsessed with books about transportation (trains, cars, trucks) so I think this book is a perfect addition to that genre. The illustrations were beautiful and would be great for engaging readers into what is going on in the story.

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I wasn't expecting to be wowed by a children's book on container shipping, to be honest. The fact I came away impressed and marveling at how well it was put together speaks highly. Not only is it jam packed with info on life aboard a container ship and their importance to the global economy but it had an interesting story.

The illustrations, while simple on the surface, also impressed me. Lots of use of colors and lines. You get to watch a container ship being loaded, dealing with delays and rough seas and storms, but also the environment around them at delivery ports. Given how long we heard about how one lone ship stuck in a canal delayed goods for a long time, it brought a smile to my face to see not just a mention of a stuck ship but a map very clearly showing how much difference such an event can create. There's also a cutaway view of the loaded ship, showcasing some of the items you might find loaded on any given voyage. They ranged from cars and bikes to medical supplies and common items like socks and light bulbs. I should note that the author offers a picture of some items you might see shipped or, for that matter, simply along the way. See if you can find them all, including the life boat, whales, and buoys. Then, at the end, you can check your success with another such illustration.

The text is rhythmic and matches the illustrations nicely. The ones of the ship caught in the storm are expressive and the use of a "tilted", so to speak, frame for the illustration is a nice touch. At the end there are info boxes with more on the industry. They're each in different colored boxes, I noted, which helps not give the sense of info overload that a mere page of typed words otherwise might. This section included info on not just the benefits and challenges of container shipping but why countries trade to begin with. A glossary follows in the same format, a crewman leaning against one of the boxes an added touch.

Let's see, what else besides cool illustrations and an interesting story? How about a list of potential jobs in the industry? There is also a list of videos that are recommended and links to where to download an activity guide. Finally, more on how ships float. That's obviously important. Grin.

Bottom line, I came away with a new respect for those in this industry. It's obviously hard work but important to the world. Thank you #NetGalley and #LernerPublishingGroup - #MillbrookPress for taking me along on this journey. I'll never quite look at our closest port activity quite the same again.

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LOVE this book! My seven-year-old is obsessed with shipping containers and frequently begs to ride past the ports in our town. We both loved learning more about the journeys these ships go through. Excellent illustrations and the level of text was perfect for him.

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Great illustrations and engaging text. I really liked the additional information included in the last pages.

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I enjoyed the pictures in this one.

The font is perfect for this children’s book.

It’s informative and perfect for young children.

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