PreS^-Gr. 1. A canoe trip turns into a rollicking adventure as a little girl and her dog set out for a paddle. Beaver wants to come too, even though the girl tells him, "There's not much room. It's a one-dog canoe." But he climbs aboard, as, in turn, do Loon, Wolf, and even Bear and Moose. They all manage to stay afloat, until Frog leaps in. A veritable explosion of wildlife ensues as animals, canoe, girl, paddle, and picnic basket are flipped into the air, then fall and land with a splash. There's no harm done, though. As the soaked yet gracious paddler remarks, "It's okay--we had a good swim!" The hilariously exaggerated facial expressions on the animals are the highlight of Hoyt's softly colored illustrations; Beaver's toothy grin as he seats himself firmly in the canoe sets the comic tone for the following action, and each animal has a suitably worried look as the others pile in. --Diane Foote

Casanova (The Hunter) puts a North Woods spin on the popular folktale "The Mitten" as she loads up a small red canoe with animals of the forest and lake until the tippy boat can take no more. The wide-eyed blonde narrator sets off on a solo canoe ride, only to be accosted by her tail-wagging dog, "Can I come, too?" She replies, "You bet,... a trip for two-just me and you." Successive creatures emerge from land, water and sky to ask the paddling girl the same. She rebuffs them kindly, explaining that the craft is only big enough to accommodate its current occupants ("Maybe next time! It's a one-loon, one-beaver, one-dog canoe"). The animals nevertheless plop right in and make themselves at home. Rhyming text sets a buoyant tone, as do debut artist Hoyt's lively illustrations. Bestowing humorous anthropomorphic expressions on each critter's face, the artist also offers entertaining perspectives of the turmoil in the boat, e.g., enormous Moose, who easily fills most of a spread, settles in among wide-eyed Bear and Wolf, hungry Loon and the incredulous dog, as Beaver flinchingly peers out from beneath a paddle. An amusing subplot, about the fate of the girl's picnic lunch, develops wordlessly, to great effect. Readers will happily embark on this animated excursion. Ages 3-6. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

A girl and her dog don life jackets and set out in a canoe. The wildlife takes an interest in this one-dog canoe, each animal after the next asking, Can I come, too? One beaver, loon, wolf, bear, and moose later, the canoe is still afloat--until a frog hops aboard. Casanova's spunky narrator and rhythmic rhyming text and Hoyt's personality-rich characterizations create what's sure to be a read-aloud favorite. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

PreS-Gr 1-A lively rhyming text and a wry sense of humor take a wide-eyed, ponytailed little girl and her dog on an adventurous trip down the river. As they set off, they are accosted by a seemingly endless train of hitchhiking animals that ask, "Can I come, too?" And although it is just a "one-dog canoe," this kindhearted child cannot help but say yes to the beaver, the loon, the wolf, the bear, the moose, and, finally, the frog that is just enough of a straw to break this red canoe's back. So with a "Swoosh-a-bang flop!" over they all go into the water. But despite the dunking, the girl remains resolutely upbeat, since they "had a good swim!" Well patterned, this story has the expected ending, but the choice of animals gives it a strong sense of place, as the girl encounters backwoods creatures and eventually paddles off into the Northern Lights. From the bucktoothed, begging beaver to the supremely confident wolf to the sad-eyed moose, the watercolor illustrations give the animals lots of personality, and the picture of all of them stuffed into the groaning canoe as well as of their inevitable big splash will surely elicit giggles. Pair this title with John Burningham's Mr. Gumpy's Outing (Holt, 1995) for some silly storytime fun.-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A girl sets out on a canoe ride and is joined by her dog, then a variety of animal passengers in Casanova's (When Eagles Fall, p. 877, etc.) buoyant outing. Beaver is the first to climb aboard. "Can I come, too?" he asks. "There's not much room," the girl explains. "It's a one-dog canoe." But "with a slap and a swim, / Beaver scrambled in." Hoyt, in his children's book debut, plays with perspective, first depicting the eager beaver standing on a log then close-up, in the same position, in the front of the canoe. Casanova's rhyming text employs a familiar cumulative twist as each animal requests a ride. "I doubt you'll fit. It's a one-beaver, one dog canoe," she tells a curious loon. Then, to the wolf: "Maybe next time! It's a one-loon, / one-beaver, one-dog canoe." But the animals won't take no for an answer and, each one larger than the last, enters the canoe in a most indelicate manner. Hoyt's humorous illustrations convey the passenger's uncertainty. A very funny spread depicts all the animals, including a bear and moose, improbably crammed into the canoe, its stern sinking below the surface. Finally, it's the smallest creature (a frog) that upsets the boat's balance and sends the entire crew overboard. Through it all, the girl remains good-natured. Hoyt's closing vignette depicts the girl and her dog, alone at last, heading off for an evening excursion, a satisfying denouement to a very hectic day. (Picture book. 3-6)