River Parade

On a hot day, a young boy takes his three toys ("Laurel, Upstairs, and Buoyant") on a river ride with his dad. He's a little apprehensive, "The river was bigger than I thought it would be," but "the boat was nice" and "I liked the smell and sound of the water. When Laurel, his toy horse, falls in the river, the (unnamed) boy decides that Laurel actually likes the river, and his dad ties a rope to the horse. In short order, Buoyant the duck and Upstairs the Giraffe, wind up in the water, and the three of them tag along, tied together by a long piece of string. (Unfortunattely, it's somewhat difficult to see the line "All of a sudden Upstairs jumped in." The words were placed in the corner of the page, over the picture of the brown boat.) All seems tranquil, but then the boy reaches over to grab a branch, and he goes into the drink as well. He, too, is tied to the boat by a string going from the boat to his lifevest. All concludes happily as the boy observes: It was cold and nice./We were like a parade./ It's wonderful to swim in the river,/as long as you're on a string. I wonder though: With all this accidental winding-up-in-the river, has Alexandra Day (author/illustrator of the wonderful "Paddy's Pay Day"), really reassured kids about river fun? The illustrative touches are nice: Buoyant holds some water plants in it's mouth, a pair of ducks look out over the "river parade," the boy sees a school of small fish just beneath the boat, his water-reflected face staring back at him. However, the river itself doesn't look very friendly. I would have preferred a broad river that did not look like it was on the verge of overflowing; an image enhanced by the many buildings staked on top of the river, and by a fairly choppy waters.While these touches may reinformce the notion that the river is not as scary as it looks, a slightly softer portrait of the river may work better.