The Raft

• Nicky is left by his father at his Grandma's for the summer
• Nicky is not happy about going
• Grandma calls herself a "river rat" because she loves living by the river
• Grandma's house is cluttered
• Grandma keeps Nicky very busy with work
• Nicky discovers a raft that floated down the river
• there are drawings of different animals on the raft
• Grandma shows Nicky how to use the raft
• Nicky begins to love the raft and even sleeps on the raft in a tent
• Nicky likes to draw on the raft
• Grandma and Nicky like to go swimming in the river
• One day Nicky helps a baby deer get back to it's mother on the riverbank
• Nicky draws a picture of the baby deer on the raft, this way he is always a part of the river, just like Grandma