In 1914, four-year-old Antonio lives with his mother in the hotel she runs next to Gowganda Lake in Ontario, Canada. The large hotel is inhabited by short-term visitors as well as long-term renters, including lumberjacks and trappers. Because there aren't many children to play with, the boy spends his time with the hotel's employees and residents. He also enjoys the surrounding forest but seldom sees animals as they stay away, due to the lodgers' activities. One summer day, fire is spotted in the distance and quickly spreads through the forest toward the building. The only safe place is the nearby lake, and people rush toward that refuge. Watching in wonder, they're soon joined by the forest animals fleeing the fire, including moose, porcupines, wolves, and deer. For the next several hours, humans and animals have one common goal to survive. Sepia-tone backgrounds and scratchy pen-and-ink drawings add life to the remembrance and give it the appropriate, old-fashioned feel. Children will be fascinated with the story experienced by the author's grandfather and passed down for generations.--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2015 Booklist

K-Gr 3-This deceptively simple and original picture book recounts an event that happened to the author's grandfather when he was four years old. In 1914, Antonio Willie Giroux lived in a logging hotel run by his mother in the forest by Gowganda Lake in Ontario. Lively and bustling, the hotel catered to travelers and outdoorsmen, as well as to lumberjacks and silver miners. Antonio was an active little boy, curious about the doings of the employees and the goings on of the hotel, and his activities are described in detail. One night, a fire broke out in the woods, and everyone fled to the lake. Ordinarily, different guests inhabited separate areas of the hotel (with travelers on one floor and working men on another), but that night everyone stuck together-including the animals, who took refuge in the lake as well. Distinguished pen-and-ink illustrations with sepia-toned watercolor washes depict the events and characters realistically, dynamically conveying the movement and flow of the story. Some might doubt the plausibility of the animals and people standing so close together, though this is a minor quibble, as this book is less a strict biography and more a remembrance, with some artistic license taken. VERDICT While this wonderful, somewhat complex selection will be useful for those looking to use literature as a jumping-off point for introducing history, as with Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books, the story itself may lack child appeal and its message of unity may be lost on the intended audience.-Ellie Lease, Harford County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In 1914, a 4-year-old boy living in Gowganda, Ontario, witnesses a forest fire that forces people and animals into a nearby lake to survive. Bond recounts this true story of her grandfather Antonio, who grew up in a rural, lakeshore hotel his mother operated. Antonio spends his time helping hotel staff, peeking into guests' rooms, hanging out with lumberjacks, trappers, and silver miners, and exploring the dense forest looking for animals. One dry summer day, a forest fire quickly spreads toward the hotel. To escape, everyone rushes into the lake, soon followed by rabbits, foxes, bobcats, raccoons, wolves, deer, moose, porcupines, elk, squirrels, possums, and bears fleeing from the woods. To Antonio's amazement, people and animals "stood close enough to touch." Eventually, the fire dies down, the people return to the still-standing hotel, and the animals depart. Delicate watercolor-and-pen-and-ink illustrations bring palpable realism to this vivid imagined memory. Pale sepia, gray, and green washes combine with fine-lined figures to evoke the nostalgic feel of old etchings. Scenes of boisterous boarders in the dining room contrast with images of the same shocked men knee-deep in the lake watching the flaming red sky. Sensitively drawn animals, tentatively and nervously waiting together in shared peril with humans, speak volumes. Awe-inspiring, exquisitely rendered, indeed "unforgettable." (author's note) (Picture book. 4-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Bond relates a story from 1914 Ontario, during her grandfathers childhood, when he lived at a lakeside hotel run by his mother. Art and text describe young Antonio wandering the hotel, intrigued both by the travelers and outdoor sportsmen and by the loud, lively men who worked in the foresttrappers, lumberjacks, silver miners. Antonio also roams the woods, catching only disappointing half-glimpses of wild animals. One day, a forest fire breaks out, driving everyone toward the only safe placethe lake. As people stand in the water watching the fire rage, animals, too, make their way out of the woods and into the lake. Its a dream come true for Antonio, who gets a close-up look at every forest creature imaginable as they slowly parade by. Like a woodland version of Hickss Peaceable Kingdom, wolves stood beside deer, foxes beside rabbits. And people and moose stood close enough to touch. Bond vividly conveys the nearness and wonder by describing what Antonio experiences: he smelled the steam rising off the animals wet fur, saw their chests lifting and falling in steady rhythm, and felt their hot animal breath. As the fire subsides, all creatures leave the waterand miraculously, the hotel has escaped untouched. The endpapers feature realistic drawings of forest animals against a sepia background, the vintage-childrens-book vibe setting the tone for this historical tale. Throughout, Bonds detailed sketches tinted with muted browns, greens, blues, and oranges create a dreamlike mood, a fine match for the mesmerizing story. An appended note includes a photo of the authors grandfather as a child. jennifer m. brabander(c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In this haunting story about a 1914 incident from the childhood of Bond's grandfather, four-year-old Antonio Willie Giroux lives in the lakeside hotel his mother runs in Gowganda, Ontario. Antonio spends his days helping staffers and walking in the forest, where he catches only glimpses of wildlife-with hunters and lumberjacks afoot, "the safest place for animals was a distant, hidden one." Bond's (The House That George Built) richly descriptive language and sepia-toned illustrations work in tandem to conjure the remote, densely wooded setting. A raging forest fire-which Antonio hears "roar like a monster and crackle with white lightning heat"-threatens the entire town, whose residents dash to the lake for safety. A strange tranquility descends as they stand in the water and watch animals exit the burning forest to take refuge alongside them-"Wolves stood beside deer, foxes beside rabbits. And people and moose stood close enough to touch." A story valuable both as a glimpse into a bygone way of life and a record of a surreal, singular moment. Ages 5-9. Agent: Judy Sue Goodwin Sturges, Studio Goodwin Sturges. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

K-Gr 3-This deceptively simple and original picture book recounts an event that happened to the author's grandfather when he was four years old. In 1914, Antonio Willie Giroux lived in a logging hotel run by his mother in the forest by Gowganda Lake in Ontario. Lively and bustling, the hotel catered to travelers and outdoorsmen, as well as to lumberjacks and silver miners. Antonio was an active little boy, curious about the doings of the employees and the goings on of the hotel, and his activities are described in detail. One night, a fire broke out in the woods, and everyone fled to the lake. Ordinarily, different guests inhabited separate areas of the hotel (with travelers on one floor and working men on another), but that night everyone stuck together-including the animals, who took refuge in the lake as well. Distinguished pen-and-ink illustrations with sepia-toned watercolor washes depict the events and characters realistically, dynamically conveying the movement and flow of the story. Some might doubt the plausibility of the animals and people standing so close together, though this is a minor quibble, as this book is less a strict biography and more a remembrance, with some artistic license taken. VERDICT While this wonderful, somewhat complex selection will be useful for those looking to use literature as a jumping-off point for introducing history, as with Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" books, the story itself may lack child appeal and its message of unity may be lost on the intended audience.-Ellie Lease, Harford County Public Library, MD © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.