The Goat and the Stoat and the Boat

The Goat and the Stoat and the Boat is the perfect book to learn about rhyming and -oa words. This emphasis on the -oa word family allows a child to gain a lot of words with less effort. The words are encapsulated in a fun story about a stoat who loves playing in his very own boat until a goat wearing a coat decides to join the fun and will not take no for an answer. Eventually, their chase leads to an accident, a rescue, and a decision to become friends. Between the theme of friendship and the word choices, this is ideal for Preschool-1st grade readers and a step towards learning to read. The illustrations were fun and the story itself is perfect for fans of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. I hope the author decides to feature other word families with his fun writing style in a series devoted to early literacy.

THE GOAT AND THE STOAT AND THE BOAT is a humorous picture book about a goat and a stoat who are arguing about who should be in the boat. While there are some mishaps, they learn that it is better to work together than at odds.

What I loved: This was quite the tongue twister of a read that works best when read aloud. The clever use of many -oat words makes for an intriguing read that is quite fun to listen to. The storyline is easy to follow with some clever visual interactions along the way, particularly the flipped pages that read from top to bottom as you rotate the book. The characters really come to life during the story with plenty of color and visual interest throughout.

The book also comes with a downloadable audiobook to add to the fun and allow children to read along independently. The frequent use of rhyming words will also help with early word recognition and related phonics.

Final verdict: THE GOAT AND THE STOAT AND THE BOAT is a silly and tongue-twisting picture book that will work well for early elementary school aged readers.