Matt Shanks, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Scholastic Australia, July 2016, 16pp., $14.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781760159795
Matt Shanks has turned the favourite song- Row Row Row your boat – into a wonderful new picture book with a quirky Australian theme.
A young boy rows his boat down the river and manages to collect a host of Australian animals- a koala, a bandicoot, a platypus, a kookaburra… and then a crocodile. They all pile into his boat together. Understandably the boat is over-loaded and rocks a bit too much at the end. I’ll let you guess what happens.
Row Row Row Your Boat has the strong rhythm, rhyme and repetition that young children love. I can see young children happily reading and singing along to the text while they delight in the brightly coloured double-page spreads. Matt’s vibrant and unique water-colour illustrations provide the perfect accompaniment to the lyrics of the text.
Matt Shanks is a very talented young Melbourne artist and creative designer. We will definitely be seeing more of his work. Row, Row, Row Your Boat is his first picture book and has sparked a five book deal with Scholastic.
I recommend Row, Row, Row Your Boat for kids 1-4 years. I suspect it could easily become a family favourite.
Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald
