I have seen the Grand Banks schooner Thomas E. Lannon many times over the years on visits to Gloucester, Massachusetts; the stately vessel rests proudly -- when it's not at sea, of course -- at Seven Seas Wharf off Rogers Street, adjacent to the Gloucester House, a fine restaurant along the water, and close to the 7 Seas Whale Watch, which has taken me and mine out to see countless whales sporting off the New England coast. While the Lannon has always drawn my eye as a beautiful sailing ship (and features, I'm sure, in quite a few vacation photographs) I've never known much about its history.

Now I know, thanks to writer and illustrator Pat Lowery Collins, whose picture book Schooner tells the tale of its construction in the late 1990s in nearby Essex.

Collins tells the story through the eyes of a boy who discovers the ship-building process on Dec. 23, 1996, and is captivated as the ship takes shape before his eyes over the next six months. The book is presented as a series of diary entries throughout the construction process; the youthful narrator is inquisitive to the point of annoyance, but the workers usually answer his questions about stanchions and bulwarks, ribbands and oakum, trunnels and shores. (There's a handy glossary at the end, in case readers miss an explanation somewhere.)

It's a quick read, illustrated with Collins' colorful art. Readers both young and old will enjoy this book, which explains a lot about ship-building that, until now, I didn't realize I absolutely needed to know.

[ visit Pat Lowery Collins online ]