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One-Dog Canoe

Name: One-Dog Canoe
Author: Mary Casanova
ISBN: 9780312561185

by Mary Casanova, Ard Hoyt

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Overview

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.”

When a girl and her dog set out on a canoe trip together, they’re expecting a quiet afternoon for two. Then a beaver decides to join them, even when the girl protests that “It’s a one-dog canoe.” And when a loon, and a wolf, and a bear, and a moose all ask for a ride, it’s almost too much. But they all manage to fit in this one-dog canoe—until a frog comes along. . . .

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.

Synopsis

Sometimes—the more the merrier.

Publishers Weekly

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.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

About the Author, Mary Casanova

Mary Casanova is the author of several novels and picture books including The Hunter, a Booklist Editors’ Choice and a winner of the Minnesota Book Award, and Dog Watch, a series of books for early readers. She lives in Ranier, Minnesota. Visit her on the web at www.marycasanova.com.

Ard Hoyt is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design. He’s also the illustrator of I’m a Manatee by John Lithgow and Saying Goodbye to Lulu, an ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award winner by Corinne Demas. He lives in Mesa, Arizona.

The next book from Ms. Casanova and Mr. Hoyt will be The Day Dirk Yeller Came to Town, published by FSG in Spring 2011.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Children's Literature

What a lovely day to go off in a canoe with one's best friend, one's best canine friend, that is. That's right, a pleasant little "trip for two—just me and you." Unfortunately, this charmingly serene state of affairs does not last. Before the girl and her smiling dog know what has hit them, a beaver has invited itself into the canoe. Thus begins a rollicking and very funny adventure with more and more animals climbing into the canoe, wanting to join the little jaunt. Of course, we all know that eventually the laws of physics will not be denied, but it is quite extraordinary how many creatures are able to get into the canoe before the inevitable happens. With a pleasantly rhythmic, rhyming text, this a perfect book to read out loud. The wonderfully funny illustrations manage to keep the animals looking true to nature and yet expressive at the same time. We have no doubt about they are feeling and are very gratified that, in the end, they do the right thing for the girl and her dog. What a perfect ending. 2003, Farrar Straus and Giroux, Ages 3 to 6.
— Marya Jansen-Gruber

School Library Journal

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 Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

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 dénouement to a very hectic day. (Picture book. 3-6)