When Amy goes fishing and loses her first big catch, the day is spoiled. Or is it? By the end of the day, Amy has a real fish story to tell as well as a lasting memory.
A Morning to Polish and Keep is the classic children's picture book set on the beautiful Pacific Coast. It is a story of adventure, togetherness, and, ultimately, the comforting memory of family.
Julie Lawson
is the award-winning author of numerous books for children and young adults. Her most recent title is Ghosts of the Titanic. Other works include White Jade Tiger, winner of the Sheila A Egoff Award, No Safe Harbour, winner of the Hackmatack Award and A Ribbon of Shining Steel, shortlisted for the CLA Book Award. A former elementary teacher, she balances her time between presenting in schools and libraries throughout the country, travelling the world, and writing from her home in Victoria, British Columbia.
Sheena Lott
is an accomplished artist who for the past 25 years, has had a very successful and varied career. This busy artist currently exhibits at the Winchester Galleries and The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria Art Rental. She is best known for her painterly style and 3-colour palette often depicting figures in the landscape. Sheena has illustrated ten children's books including Singing the Dark, Jessie's Island and Salmon Forest.
"A lovely tale for a summer evening."
— The Toronto Sun
"This story is so well structured it takes hold of readers right from the title page. . . Specific detail, sensory images and figurative language infuse the story. . . The illustrations offer a splendid companion to the text. Sheena Lott?s soft muted blue, gray, green and lilac watercolours capture the misty morning as details come into view. . . The power of memory through one's growing up years is expertly presented in this captivating and enduring picture book.
Highly Recommended."
— CM Magazine
"Lott's illustrations are handsome watercolors that capture the changing light of dawn and the ever-changing surface of the sea."
— Quill & Quire
"A jewel...the book encapsulates a glowing summer memory that will strike a warm and resonant chord in everyone who has experienced the beauty and solitude of a lake, stream, or ocean before dawn. Words and pictures evoke the delights and regrets that emerge from a summer's last fishing trip."
— Canadian Book Review Annual
"Lawson's descriptions skilfully evokes the sounds, sights, and sensations of summer's last fishing trip, while illustrator Sheena Lott's muted watercolour-palette illustrations, full of soft lines and fluid movement, bring the text to life. Lott has also expertly captured the shimmering quality of light and the translucency of water, adding a magical, whimsical element to the story. And her expressive figure drawing is spot-on, adding depth to this comforting, feel-good tale sure to become a cherished family favourite read time and again."
— The National Reading Campaign
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