Room for One More

This is an entertaining and gently amusing picture book with beautifully detailed watercolour illustrations. When Beaver builds a boat just big enough for one, he soon gets lonely, paddling on his own. Constructing a large raft, he attracts a succession of willing passengers from the riverbank: Mole, Hedgehog, Hare and Badger. As there is ‘room for one more’ at each stop, the raft gradually fills up until it is crammed with creatures when Bear embarks, making the raft rock wildly. Despite protestations from the crew that there now is no room for any more, a butterfly lands on the raft, which immediately turns upside down, giving all the animals on board a thorough ducking. Children will enjoy perusing each page for the very small creatures not mentioned in the story, including a ladybird, snail and mouse, who, almost unnoticed, end up on Beaver’s raft as it journeys downstream. Originally published in Dutch, other books involving the same characters include There’s a Hole in my Bucket and Beaver’s Lodge.