FREE: Row, Row, Row your boat Children's book

The listing, Row, Row, Row your boat Children's book has ended.

PreSchool-Grade 3-An expanded version of the traditional song. Oppenheim adds 12 more stanzas featuring toy vehicles that a young boy in the bathtub sails, paddles, floats, revs (a motor boat), ferrys, pulls (a barge), and dives (a submarine), etc. The melody seems to get lost as the verses go along and the focus shifts from activities directly associated with water vehicles to actions taken by the people aboard. "See, see the city sights,/buildings built so tall./Uptown, downtown,/ crosstown, too-/we'll try to see it all." O'Malley's pastel illustrations clearly depict the child's fantasies as he acts out each of the verses. The book has appropriately large print, but the rhythm (or lack of) prevents the text from flowing smoothly. Some of the vocabulary and structure of the phrases necessitated by the rhyme scheme complicate the story's readability and comprehensibility. There are many more appropriate titles that will allow emerging readers to feel a sense of accomplishment.
Sharron McElmeel, Cedar Rapids Community Schools, IA