One-Dog Canoe   by Mary Casanova (2003)

My book of choice for this month was One Dog Canoe, by Mary Casanova, illustrated by Ard Hoyt. It's a cumulative tale, similar to The Napping House, where the main character takes her dog out for a cruise on the river in a one-person, one-dog canoe, only to be joined by a multitude of other animals who are decidedly bigger than the canoe can hold. A recurring refrain of "Can I come, too?" is perfect for participation, and much fun to try in different voices ("what do you think the beaver sounds like?"). There is also plenty of opportunity to talk about phonological awareness , with fun rhyming words like blue/too, flap/lap, ka-wump/rump, rack/back, etc and lovely onomatopoeiaic language such as the aformentioned ka-wump, plus sputter, splash, swoosh, and my favorite, Swoosh-a-bang-flop! And the vocabulary words abound: paddle, loon, dew, J-stroking and C-stroking, rack, leap, glare. The illustrations are detailed without being fussy, and the facial expressions on the animals (and the girl) are perfectly in keeping with each characters mood on each page.

- Tasha Forrester