Row Row Row Your Boat by Angie Lionetto-Civa

Ill. by Serena Geddes. New Frontier, 2010. ISBN 9781921042539.
(Age 3-5) Two children are having fun rowing down the river. One rows while the other uses a telescope to spy out what he can see. They see a frog that leaps on board and sails with them. Next they come to a chimpanzee that joins them, then a parrot eating a carrot and so on.  The boys and their boatload of animals finally see a snapping crocodile that they mange to evade. They land safely and have lots of fun dancing and playing on the riverbank.
The story is based on the familiar Row, row, row your boat song and its rhythm makes it an ideal book to read aloud or for children to sing along with. The repetition of the Row, row, row your boat chorus is sure to have young children chiming in with the reading and anticipating what's coming next.
The soft water colour cartoon like illustrations by Serena Geddes will appeal to children. The emotions on the faces of both the children and animals are delightful and add to the humour of the story.
This is a simple lift the flap book with the flaps disguised to blend in with the background of the illustrations on the second hand of each double spread. They fit in so well with the colours that young children will have fun trying to find them as well as guessing what animal is behind the flap. They could even trying their hand at making a rhyme.
Pat Pledger