A girl and her dog don life jackets and set out in a canoe. The wildlife takes an interest in this "one-dog canoe," each animal after the next asking, "Can I come, too?" One beaver, loon, wolf, bear, and moose later, the canoe is still afloat--until a frog hops aboard. Casanova's spunky narrator and rhythmic rhyming text and Hoyt's personality-rich characterizations create what's sure to be a read-aloud favorite.

MURPHY, Stuart J. . More or Less illus. by David T. Wenzel. ISBN 0-06-053165-7 ; ISBN 0-06-053167-3 . LC 2003027847. MURPHY, Stuart J. . Polly's Pen Pal illus. by Rémy Simard. ISBN 0-06-053168-1 ; ISBN 0-06-053170-3 . LC 2003027526. ea vol: 33p. (MathStart Series). CIP. HarperCollins 2005. Tr $15.99; pap. $4.99. PreS-Gr 3 In Time , a simple text and colorful cartoon artwork show a child as he goes through a typical day, with activities listed for each hour. Times are presented on both a digital and round-faced clock. Unfortunately, the digital numbers are in yellow on a purple background, making them hard to read. Also, although the narrative mentions time to learn or quiet time, the exact hour (e.g., five o'clock) is never written out in the text. Claire Llewellyn's My First Book of Time (DK, 1992) and Eve Merriam's Train Leaves the Station (Holt, 1994) are better choices on this topic. More or Less uses a carnival game to demonstrate comparing numbers. During a school picnic, Eddie, a math whiz, guesses people's ages by asking them if they are older or younger than a certain number. If it takes him more than six questions, he gets dunked. He is fairly successful until the principal steps up. This engaging tale, illustrated with lighthearted watercolors, will inspire children to re-create Eddie's game and might lead to a new interest in math. In the third book, Polly has an e-mail pen pal in Montreal. As Ally uses metrics to discuss height, weight, and distances, Polly learns what they mean. No comparisons to English measurements are made but the metric measurements are likened to common objects that kids will recognize. This title features colorful but simplistic computer-generated cartoons. Erlene Bishop Killeen, Fox Prairie Elementary School, Stoughton, WI