One-Dog Canoe

by Mary Casanova, Ard Hoyt (Illustrator)

Sometimes – the more the merrier

I set off one morning in my little red canoe.
My dog wagged his tail.
"Can I come, too?"
"You bet," I said.
"A trip for two – just me and you."

But when "with a slap and a swim" Beaver scrambles in, and then "with a ‘woo-hooo!' – flap!" Loon lands in the young canoeist's lap, it's clear that this will be no ordinary canoe trip.

A bouncy rhyming text and exuberant pictures full of funny, escalating antics will have young readers laughing out loud – for just when it seems the canoe can't hold anyone else, frog jumps in!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Humor, Summer, Dogs

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Mary Casanova is an award-winning children's author of novels and picture books. Many of her books stem from her life on the Minnesota-Canadian border; yet some of her stories have taken her as far away as France, Norway, and Belize for research. Whatever the setting for her books, Casanova writes stories that matter--and stories that kids can't put down.

Her book awards include: American Library Association "Notable," Aesop Accolades by the American Folklore Society, Parents' Choice "Gold" Award, Booklist Editor Choice, and two Minnesota Book Awards. Her books frequently land on state children's choice book master lists across the country. "The greatest reward for me," Casanova states, "is when a young reader tells me she or he loves one of my books. For me, it's all about communicating writer-to-reader through a character and story."

Casanova grew up in a family of ten children in St. Paul, Minnesota. In a bustling camp-like atmosphere, Casanova found that writing became her voice. "Words are my paintbrush," she explains, "my way of exploring the world around me."

Now, with 19 books published and many more under contract and forthcoming, she divides her time between writing and traveling. Nationally and internationally, at schools and conferences, Casanova shares her love of writing and reading with children and adults.

Her newest novel, The Klipfish Code, makes use of Mary's on-site research in Norway. The story explores an important facet of Norwegian history through the experiences of Marit, a 12-year-old Norwegian girl who finds a way to fight against the 5-year Nazi occupation of Norway. Marit and her brother Lars are separated from their parents (who are working for the Resistance) and sent to live on an island with their gruff grandfather and school teacher aunt. During the course of the story, Marit's aunt is one of the Norwegian school teachers that gets sent to a concentration camp for refusing to integrate Nazi propaganda into her classroom. With potential danger waiting every turn, Marit finds a way to help the Resistance and eventually reunite her family.

Mary's series, Dog Watch (Simon and Schuster) is based on her northern Minnesota village where dogs are allowed to roam free—as long as they don't get in trouble. If they get in trouble, they earn a sticker on their page at the village clerk's office; too many stickers and a trouble-making dog must remain at home. "I never know where the next story will come from. It’s a delight when the stories come right from this corner of the world I call home." She makes her home in a 100-year old house on Rainy Lake with her husband, Charles, and their three "above average" dogs and spends free time with their horses, Jay and Midnight.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little story about a girl, her canoe and her dog. I enjoyed the end and her attitude. The art was fun and the animals were an interesting choice. It was funny.

[Josie B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always looking for stories we can re-tell with the parachute, and this one has become one of my favorites. We read it first, talk about the pictures and some of the new vocabulary--most preschoolers don't know what a loon is or a moose's rack--then we re-tell using the parachute, Beanie Babies, and some puppets. The parachute is our canoe, dipping lower in the water with each animal until the final one makes the canoe toss all into the air.

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

One day a young girl and her faithful dog push their canoe into the lake and set off for on a trip for two. As they paddle around the lake they pass Beaver, “Can I come, too?” The girl objects that this is a “one-dog canoe,” but Beaver hops in with a slap of his tail. Despite her protestations, she somehow ends up in a “one-moose, one-bear, one-wolf, one-loon, one-beaver, one-dog canoe!” With such a heavy load all it takes is a small frog to tip the canoe into the water, “Plop! Swoosh-a-bang flop!” The girl and the animals laugh and splash and admit that it really was just a one-dog canoe. They bail out the canoe and soon the girl and her dog paddle off in their one-dog canoe.

The rhyming text flows along swiftly and uses wonderful imagery, “I dipped my paddle into ribbons of blue.” The illustrations are humorous and filled with funny details. Pay attention to the picnic basket and its contents throughout the book.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Jaclyn Giordano · Rating 4 out of 5]

One-Dog Canoe by Mary Casanova is a picture book in poetic form that is intended for readers in preschool through grade one. I gave it four stars. “Can I come too? Just me and my pal in a one-dog canoe.” This humorous and rhythmic picture book is full of adventure as more and animals join our little girl and her dog on their trip down the river in a canoe. Onomatopoeia, rhyme, imagery, and alliteration bring this bouncy tail to life as animal after animal slowly jump in and start to topple this canoe. The playful and colorful illustrations help the reader visualize nature and join in on the playfulness of silly and exuberant animal characters. Readers can laugh as they read this funny text and learn that you can never have too many friends—even if they topple you over, they are also there to help you pick yourself up!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun cumulative tale about a girl and her dog who go off for a paddle in her canoe. It's just the right size, "a one-dog canoe" But soon, other animals want to climb aboard, from a bear to a moose to a frog. I love the humorous illustrations and only wish the poor animals hadn't looked so dejected in the final illustration. Otherwise, it's extremely cute and a fun read-aloud.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a perfect read aloud book! 6 stars

[Bryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adore

[Haaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very cute book. We enjoyed the story so much that we decided to read it again and again. The illustrations are detailed and have subtle things happening in the background that make you laugh.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worldview - Universally Acceptable

Setting:
Location - Canada Time Period - Current

Review
An absolutely adorable rhyming story that preschool through early elementary children will love to read again and again. As a little girl sets out for an afternoon in her “one dog canoe”, all the other animals want to come too. Of course eventually “Plop! Swoosh-a-bang flop!”, they all end up in the water. The silly detailed pictures and the bouncy rhythm will capture young children’s attention keeping them interested right up to the end.

This is a perfect story for reading aloud and great fun in a group. With little encouragement children should be able to join in saying “It’s a one dog canoe” each time and older children would enjoy finishing the rhymes. .

Teacher Application
The animals in the story learn toward more iconic Canadian animals. A discussion could be had regarding how many of these animals appear on our money.

What are each of these animals and what are the Northern Lights.

The silly story makes wonderful use of Onomatopoeia, rhyme, imagery, and alliteration. It would be a fun way to approach these literary devices with older children.

Simple early math problems presents themselves in the story in a natural way with the question of how many are there in the canoe at any given time. The girl + dog + beaver + loon + wolf + bear + moose + frog = 8
or
How many animals stayed to swim when the canoe left at the end of the story:
8-girl and dog.

[Kristin Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little girl set off to go on a canoe ride when her dog asked if he could come. As they were out on their ride many animals wanted to go with them. It is a very fun book that all children will enjoy. Reminds me of The Mitten book.

This is a very fun book! I would love to read this book in my classroom when we are opening or closing an activity. I think a lot of the children will enjoy it. I thought it was a fun book and I would definitely want to own it for my own classroom. I don't know if it would really go with a certain lesson but I think it is one of those books that would be good to use to end the day or start the day or an activity.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl takes her dog out in her small canoe. Along their way down the river they meet a beaver, loon, wolf, bear, moose and finally a frog. Each animals comes aboard even though there is only room for 1 dog.

Hilarity ensues when the frog is the last animal to hop in and capsizes the whole boat.

[Brynja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very very nice pictures in this book! The artist is very good and there is always something funny going on in the picture that is not readily noticable. The story rhymed, and though some of the rhymes did seem a little bit forced, it was not very noticable. We read this book many times but didn't get sick of it. We liked it and would get it again.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a One-Dog Canoe until beaver, loon, wolf, bear, moose, and frog want to join in on the fun. They teetered, they tottered, until...splash! A swim was just the thing for all...until it is a One-Dog Canoe after all.

A fun rhyming book for storytime with beautiful, expressive illustrations.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A silly book illustrated with a sense of humor (love the expressions on the little girl's face!) about a canoe that is filled with more and more and MORE animals. Rhyming throughout, not brilliant, but fun to read aloud. The tiniest animal ends up being the last straw in this adventure, with wet results.

[Jo ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl and her dog set out for a leisurely canoe trip where they encounter many more animals who want in on the ride.

This was so fun! The expressions on the animals faces alone are worth the read. :)

[Book Him Danno · Rating 4 out of 5]

We met this author at our library and really enjoyed her presentation. This book is cute in that it adds on to each as the next animal gets in the caneo. The kids enjoyed this story and it is a great read out-loud to a classroom of k-2 graders. Fun book, great pictures.

[Caitlin Barclay]

This book rhymes and you can predict with it too! Although it is simple and short, students can also learn about which animals can be found when camping in North America. The Northern Lights are mentioned too!

[KimBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

"A girl and her dog set out in their canoe one morning, only to be insistently joined by a series of animals, large and small."

A really fun read...reminds me of "The Mitten" but with a canoe instead.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children got to meet this author at school and one got the opportunity to check it out from the library. They really enjoyed me reading it to them and the adventures of all the animals taking a ride in the canoe. It was a fun time reading this to my children as well!

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a favorite of both Chrissy and Zander. A young girl starts off on a canoe ride with her dog. Along the way, a beaver, wolf, loon, bear and moose invite themselves into the canoe with them, until a frog finally sinks them. It's another fun story, with a nice rhythm when read aloud.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reader takes a not-so-peaceful canoe ride with a little girl and her dog... and a beaver, a loon, a wolf, a bear, and a moose. As each animal hops in the boat the trip becomes more precarious. Then a tiny little frog hops aboard... SPLASH!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I rate children's books, part of what I looking for is how enjoyable it is to read aloud, and how often my children ask for a reading. Once was enough for them and for me on this one. It was fine. It just didn't have whatever it is that makes us want to come back for more.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a hit for story-time especially in summer and fall. I love a dependable book that is fun to read.

[Powers Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story, cute illustrations, good rhyming

[Mckinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun. Thought about Anna and I with Fritz.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read-a-loud for kids.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books to put out for a Pet Therapy Reading Program! A participant favorite too!

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little rhyme about a little girl who just wants to go canoeing with her dog, but a variety of wild animals want to join in the fun too.

Nice illustrations.m

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2* art
2* story

Not bad, but nothing new in a many-times-told tale.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming story and especially perfect for children who visit the Northwoods (or would like to). Here's another very important tip: this book was selected by FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra as their Kinder Konzerts book. Music was commissioned (composer Daniel Nass), the Minnesota Orchestra supplied the musicians, and music educator Katie Condon narrated not only the story but an entire series of Kinder Konzerts virtual lessons that introduce young children to orchestral music. And it's all free! Perfect way to expand a storybook into a much broader, deeper exploration of how music and words can relate. Highly recommend. Go to FRIENDS of the Minnesota Orchestra website to find out more and access the free virtual lessons and music.

https://friendsofminnesotaorchestra.o...