Lost Lake

Luke and his father, who is disgusted by the tourists surrounding the once secluded lake of his childhood, hike deeper into the wilderness to find a "lost lake" of their own.

A young boy and his father become closer friends during a camping trip in the mountains.

Luke and his father, who is disgusted by the tourists surrounding the once secluded lake of his childhood, hike deeper into the wilderness to find a "lost lake" of their own.

Publishers Weekly

A boy spends a lonely summer with his father, who is so engrossed in work he scarcely notices or talks to his son. Early one Saturday Dad wakes the boy with a surprise: they are going camping, in search of a special lake Dad had visited as a boy. When the Lost Lake is rediscovered, it is overrun with families camping and swimming; Dad is determined they will find another. Through a bleak rainstorm and dangerous bear country father and son press on, and the boy is happy to see Dad gradually become more animated and talkative. The father's dogged perseverance finally pays off: a brand-new special lake, all to themselves, to enjoy and remember. There is a sense of melancholy pervading Say's narrative, yet the story is far from depressing. The reader is drawn into the frustration felt--for different reasons--by both father and son, and rejoices with them in their final glorious discovery. The search for a childhood dream has a universal appeal, and Say's watercolors beautifully enhance both the senses of loss and discovery. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

Allen Say was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1937. He dreamed of becoming a cartoonist from the age of six, and, at age twelve, apprenticed himself to his favorite cartoonist, Noro Shinpei. For the next four years, Say learned to draw and paint under the direction of Noro, who has remained Say's mentor. Say illustrated his first children's book -- published in 1972 -- in a photo studio between shooting assignments. For years, Say continued writing and illustrating children's books on a part-time basis. But in 1987, while illustrating THE BOY OF THE THREE-YEAR NAP (Caldecott Honor Medal), he recaptured the joy he had known as a boy working in his master's studio. It was then that Say decided to make a full commitment to doing what he loves best: writing and illustrating children's books. Since then, he has written and illustrated many books, including TREE OF CRANES and GRANDFATHER'S JOURNEY, winner of the 1994 Caldecott Medal. He is a full-time writer and illustrator living in Portland, Oregon.