Nicola's Floating Home

Joan Weller is head librarian of the West Branch of the Ottawa Public
Library.

The “home” referred to in the title is the Kirtonia, a 58-foot
sailboat. Nicola is the 10-year-old daughter of the sailboat’s owners.
This rather flat third-person narrative chronicles Nicola’s life
aboard the boat from the age of 1 to 10 as the family sails from her
birthplace in Reading, England, to the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas
and across the Atlantic Ocean. Except for an accident involving her
mother, Nicola’s travels lack real adventure and appear too idyllic as
captured in the sing-song text and glossy color photographs. A glossary
of sailing terms is included. Recommended with reservations.