Who Sank the Boat?

A friend told me all five of her kids adored Who Sank The Boat, and I can see why. My two-year-old and my four-year-old both love it, and fortunately it doesn't get annoying with multiple readings! The story is simple, quirky and charmingly told, and the illustrations are fantastic and funny. It's a hit in our house.

This one has been around for at least twenty years or more. I was glad to see that it is still in print. This is a simple story of a cow, donkey, sheep, pig and mouse who live by the sea. One day the decide to take a boat ride. The boat is rather small and it does not take much to imagine what will eventually happen. The fun part, with the children, is asking "who sunk the boat?" As each animal gets into the boat, things get worse and worse. This is a good one to talk to the children about and with. The story is simple, the illustrations quite good. Recommend this one highly. D. Blankenship

.This book has the simplest of plots but it is very charmingly told.Imagine a pig carrying an umbrella, a sheep doing knitting, and a cow and a donkey and a mouse, all walking along on their back legs in single file.What else is there to do on a fine sunny morning but to go for a row in the boat?But there is one big question. "Who sank the boat?"We are told the outcome right up front, but who was the culprit? The tension and suspense is fantastic as each creature in turn gets aboard. The donkey is a smart critter since he knew how to balance the weight of the cow. The sheep was just as smart since he got on the opposite side to the pig. We are now very low in the water now, but still afloat.The smallest and the lightest of the friends now gets on board. Glug, glug, glug - Time to swim. "You DO know who sank the boat" - don't you?This is a classic children's story, beautifully illustrated.For the thoughtful child it is a good introduction to some interesting physical phenomena. The straw that broke the camel's back is an overworked (and unpleasant) metaphor. Our mouse friend is a good analogy to that one snowflake that triggered the avalanche.

Lovely illustrations, and a good text, which has some good rhymes. A reading aloud book, definitely, as some of the words are hard for beginning readers, while the story-line is suitable for younger readers. As for science, it is worthwhile building up the picture that everyone sitting in the boat contributes to its sinking. Eventually, the cry goes up that "Everyone did!" in reponse to the question "Who sank the boat?"Pamela Allen also wrote "Mr Archimedes Bath" which is a terrific exploration of water displacement.

This book is great for getting kids to think about what makes things float or sink, as well as how things balance. The surprise ending is a lot of fun, although getting kids to understand why it happens usually involves going back through the whole series of pictures. This could be a good early science book or just a good read!