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When I'm With You
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Picnics by the water. Comforting walks with a friend. Tossing rocks into the sea. Maine writer Elizabeth Elder lyrically captures these quintessential childhood moments in a new full-color children's book from Islandport Press gorgeously illustrated with remarkable watercolors by Maine illustrator Leslie Mansmann. When I'm With You is a wonderful read-aloud picture book for children of all ages that can be read over and over as a bedtime story.
When I'm With You is the enchanting story of a boy and girl picnicking on the rocks while a bear, a fox and a bee watch from the bushes and reeds, making only paw prints in the sand, faint noises in the air, and ripples on the water. This charming story evokes memories of lazy summer days by the sea when a child just knew that (probably) friendly animals were somewhere nearby also enjoying the sunshine and summer breezes. At the same time, the book celebrates the comfort of friendship when faced with even fleeting moments of uncertainty.
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About the Authors: Elizabeth Elder has worked as a teacher and journalist and is currently the editor of weekly newspapers in Southern Maine. She has also owned and operated a classic country store in a Maine coastal village. When I'm With You is her third book and her first full-color children's book. Elizabeth has two adult children and makes her home in Cape Elizabeth. She is looking forward to her first grandchild in the summer of 2003. |
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Leslie Mansmann earned her illustration degree at the Philadelphia College of Art and has spent the last 25 years working as a freelance illustrator. She worked much of that time in the advertising industry. When I'm With You is Leslie's first children's book. She lives in North Yarmouth, Maine with her husband, three children, seven cats, four dogs and three horses. |
Excerpt from When I'm With You:
"I am a bear," the brown bear said,
and he sank in the water right up to his head.
"I am a fox," the fox declared,
and he hid as close to the shore as he dared.
"I am bee," said the bee to the fox
as she buzzed near the reeds
and the weeds and the rocks.
The girl and the boy sat
down with their lunch
of nuts and cookies and
grapes to munch.
"There's a spot on the water
where ripples go out,"
said the boy to the girl as
they puttered about."
