<i>Wow</i>.

I am honestly slightly at a loss for words. <i>All in the Same Boat</i> by Wilkie J. Martin, illustrated by Tanja Russita, was <i>not </i>the story that I was expecting <i>at all</i>. So much so to the point that I kind of looked at it when I put it down and my first thought was to wonder if I was wrong when I'd thought it was a children's book. But it was and apparently I just forgot to recognize what "cautionary new fable for ages 6-8" probably meant. I think I just imagined for some reason that it wouldn't be so dark.

But <i>All in the Same Boat</i> actually is pretty dark. Much darker than I expected for a kids book. And while I admit this, I also have to admit that I loved it. The story was so unexpectedly fun--though I did get a bit sad halfway through and if you read it I'm sure you'll be able to figure out why--that I honestly would love to have this book on my shelf. I question whether I would read it to a six-year-old just a bit though. Perhaps my future child might enjoy it, but as an educator I don't think I could read this book to a student. I'd feel a bit awkward about it.

But overall I just really enjoyed the story. In my opinion, despite the dark nature of it, this is a fantastic tale. And it's definitely reminiscent of some of the fables that I'd read as a kid. I think back to tales like the one about the fox and the scorpion and it matches for me. Plus the artwork was actually surprisingly wonderful. I didn't know if I'd love it going in, but I left the short story really appreciating it.

So, ultimately, I definitely loved this book. I was certainly surprised, having not expected the events to unfold as they did. But at the end of the day, this was one of the more fun and interesting children's books I've read in a while.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

You will not like the rat. He is just rotten to the core, very selfish and was definitely using his physical size and strength to intimidate the poor Gerbil and Mouse. On the other hand, the two smaller critters, sweet as they are, should have stood up for themselves! Poor guys, it is not easy to fight for the right thing, but you have to do it!

Yikes!! A shipwreck leaves a rat, a gerbil and a mouse alone in a life-raft, although they do have supplies to last until anything else comes along (unless what comes along first is the giant shark circling beneath…). Unfortunately the rat sees that he's bulkier than the mouse, and thirstier than the gerbil, and so should get a greater ration. And his selfishness just grows and grows from there. Now you might think an animal fable concerning selfishness is a good thing, but for one thing here his logic, that he needs a greater share and more space, actually has a kind of solid reasoning, and for the another – this is a grim as anything. It might even out-grim Grimm. Lovely watercolour images, as in the team's other title, really sell this, but with the brightness of the design so not matching the darkness of the story, they really have produced a misfire here. Let's face it, it starts with the deaths of everyone else on the boat, and trust me – it gets steadily worse from there. One and a half stars.

Definitely a dark tale for children, but I loved it as an adult. I love how sneakily we get to see the Rat dominating the good-willed mouse and the gerbil, with whom he is sharing a boat in the middle of the sea. The Rat convinces/deceives them into giving him more food and water, so he gets stronger and the fellow partners get weaker. Later on, he dominates the whole ship, but his arrogance and greed will result in his downfall as well. It would give a good example of the importance of not being selfish and survival as a group, but a kid might be scared of all the evil the Rat represents. It might be better to promote it for an older target group. Special thanks to NetGalley and The Witcherley Book Company for an ARC.

When friends eat one another out of selfishness, it is just not a book I can get behind. I think there are so many other ways to help children see the value of selflessness, sharing and kindness without having animals destroy one another. I am really disturbed by this book and will not be sharing with my children I know.

Whoa. This is dark.

Essentially, this is a little fable about three animals who get stuck in a boat with limited supplies. Rat is greedy and takes more than his fair share. And... that's about it.

There's no real reason for Rat's change of heart at the end. His greed is so strong, it leads him to eat one of his companions. There's nothing in the text that suggests why he would suddenly understand the error of his ways, other than a scolding from the remaining companion.

The body count in this book is high. Arguably, everyone dies. It's a really strange thing to see in a children's picture book, and it makes the whole story rather pointless. If the last remaining character doesn't have long to live, anyway, the lesson becomes essentially meaningless. Maybe they all should've eaten and drank their fill and at least enjoyed themselves if their days were already numbered.

The illustrations are rough but passable, and with a better story, they might have worked. I'm just struggling to see the point of such a pointless story. If you want to convey a message about greed, there needs to be more emphasis on long-term consequences; otherwise, readers may question the need to rein in that greed in the first place.

Lol! I don't know what to make of this story! Is it for children? Maybe not really young ones. Rat certainly was a greedy one and he does deserve the ending, but- oh!- it's a kids book! Well, for the right kid, this is going to be a good one. I'm not sure Gerbil was the lucky one at all.... Illustrations were a delight.