Cover Image: All In The Same Boat

All In The Same Boat

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this. The pictures were great. So bright. The story was fun.

Was this review helpful?

My 8 year old enjoyed this read very much. The lesson about greed and only looking out for yourself was easy for him to comprehend. The imagery was appealing, however the font used was difficult to read in e-book format. I found the content to be age appropriate for the targeted demographic.

Was this review helpful?

This story was slow and boring. The children lost interest very quickly. I found the story didn’t interest me that much either. The water colour illustrations were spare and not at all appealing.

There was a good underlying moral of greed being the catalyst of Rat’s demise but the road there was too long.

Was this review helpful?

This is another updated fable by Wilkie J. Martin. Rat is greedy and when Rat, Mouse and Gerbil are the only survivors of a sinking ship, he eats and drinks more than his share of the food and water found in the lifeboat. It is a cautionary tale for children, but I disagree with the age to read it to. I would recommend it for ages 8 and up. It is a well written story with cute watercolour illustrations that act as a contrast to the actual sad and dark story. The message is about greed and selfishness, but there are also components about death of a friend and fear of a bully. This would be a good book to read with a class learning about fables and how they have messages for the reader. I did not read this one to my grandchildren, as I believe they were too young for the dark content.

Was this review helpful?

After their ship sinks in a terrible storm, Rat, Mouse and Gerbil find themselves in a small lifeboat, drifting on open sea, with no idea of their location.

Rat screams and shouts, he's sure they will all die and might as well just give up right now.
Mouse and Gerbil, not throwing a tantrum, have discovered, there's a crate with food and a barrel filled with water on board, which gives them a fair chance to reach land and survive.

They eventually manage to calm down Rat and as food and water supplies are scarce, the decision is made to ration them.

Rat still is not happy. He demands bigger portions, argueing he is bigger in size and he wants more space for himself on the boat.
Furthermore, when the two others are asleep, he sneeks up to the supplies and helps himself.
Finally, when the weather turns colder, Rat wants a warm nest of wood scraps, which results in him having a go at the planks of the boat and we all can imagine, that's not really a good idea.

Rat generally behaves like a typical bully and it's protrayed here very well.
Once he gets, what he demands, he doesn't stop, but wants more. His requests, which might sound reasonable at first, turn quickly into reckless greed, a total lack of consideration and care for Mouse and Gerbil.

Those who intimidate and haress others, have a total lack of self control and self restraint, as well as huge problems with self respect. They have to come first, no matter the logic or like in this case, Rat is totally oblivious of the fact, he's putting all of their lives at risk.

Bullies have issues with themselves and usually lack the courage to address those problems. They need to constantly invade the space and life of others, to show how important they think they are, to compensate how low they actually really feel.

Sadly, most humans are programmed to avoid conflict and often simply give Rats what they want, despite seeing the consequences at the horizon, but are too afraid to stand their ground.
It never ends well in the long run, and also our Rat has to face the result of his horrid behaviour, but, what is quite interesting, in this story, also one of the other travelers will pay a terrible prize.
I completely love this, because it's a very important point, which is more often than not sugar coated in books for children. Normally there's a fairy tale ending: bad and good, both get what they deserve for their actions.

But here's the thing: looking away, when you or someone else gets bullied, means you let it happen and not only does the bully get away with it, but they will continue and it does effect all and everybody in their surrounds.

The illustrations are beautiful and enhance the text perfectly.

For those, who prefer to listen to stories, there's an Audiobook of All In The Same Boat available, the listening time is around 11 minutes, and it's very well narrated. I highly recommend it as well as the picture book.

Was this review helpful?

When the boat goes down, the only survivors are a rat, a mouse and a gerbil. The rat is a bully. He eats most of the food, drinks the water whenever he wants, and makes the other two sit in the pointy end of the rowboat. As they get thin, he gets fat...

The Witcherley Book Company and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you. It has already been published so you van grab a copy now.

He keeps chewing on the rowboat to make wood chips to keep him warm. They ask him to stop but he doesn't listen. Then he sneaks over and grabs the mouse for a snack while the gerbil was sleeping. Then he starts chewing again and soon sprouts a leak. There's an island they can head for so they start swimming. The rat gets what he deserves but the gerbil reaches the island safely.

Don't be a bully and don't be piggy!

Was this review helpful?

A witty book with simple but effective illustrations. It deals with the topic of greed and it's consequences in the form of a fable. Given that we tend to read books to children even younger than that suggested as an appropriate age, I would caution that this is more suitable to a key stage two pupil rather than a 6 year old. Could be useful as a topic book for Personal and Social education with mid juniors.

Was this review helpful?

Okay, honestly? I finished the story and I really liked it. But I would totally not recommend this to most 6-9-year-olds although I can think of a number of upper elementary or middle school kids that would love it. It's a cautionary tale and it is definitely dark, much like Grimm's fairy tales. There is gruesome death, although this is not illustrated. I loved the simple and bright illustrations because they contrasted all the more with the dark story. I had to admit I was cackling by the end! Okay, I might be a little twisted, lol. But I really do think this book would be better for older kids and adults. I listened to the little audio sample and liked the reader for it, but the clip did not indicate just how dark it was going to be. I would be curious if the reader is able to give the reading the nuance it needs to have me cackling by the end!

Thanks to #WilkieJMartin, #NetGalley, and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I was sent this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

All in the same boat is a dark tale about greed. 3 animals have shared a boat at sea and have a limited supply of food and water. Who will survive and why?
A dark tale that is very Brothers Grimm in style.

Was this review helpful?

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This is the retelling pr a similar telling of the brothers Grimm told with a dyslexic feel.

Was this review helpful?

This story is on the nose in a delightful way. Young readers learn to see the value in the things they share in this sweet tale.

Was this review helpful?

All in the same boat - a modern fable about Greed.
This has a very sharp edge to it - parents need to see that it is a Badass New Grim Modern Fable that holds no punches.
It is a children’s book, aimed at 6-8 year olds.
Let’s no get too liberal and floaty - a shark would eat all three and without food each survivor looks tasty to the others. These are animals with their instincts yet conveying a human moral tale. Kids this age will love it.
Titanic has taught us that shipwrecks don’t always end well. This will not be a fairy tale where they all live happily together, forever.
All in the same boat - to be in the same boat is to be in the same unpleasant situation as others.
A lifeboat perhaps best illustrates this as when the ship goes down three animals share the same craft and possibly the same fate.
The interaction, conversations and betraying their nature when under stress is brought out brilliantly in this three creatures. The rat, the mouse and the gerbil. Similar animals but with completely different natures. Can they work together to survive ?
The writing is clear and on point. The illustrations bold and beautifully done in water colours.
The is a grown-up children’s book that kids will enjoy unless they don’t like Planet Earth on TV.
I hope more books follow. Can’t wait for the fox and the gingerbread man.

Was this review helpful?

The simple illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to a nice bit of amusement and moral. The story takes a look at choices in a way that children, and even adults, can identify with. The "Grimm" ending was witty.

Was this review helpful?

I read and re-read this book several times before deciding that I would not be reading this children’s picture book to my six year old. We do occasionally like dark plot lines in children’s books in our house, but this is a really dark story that I find to be haunting and morbid. I’m concerned that two of the three characters died in the story and the author specifically pointed to the short life span of the remaining character, the gerbil, on the last page, which I feel shouldn’t be done lightly in books intended for this age range. Death as an outcome of one’s actions or due to another person’s actions is a really heavy subject and too nuanced for the intended audience. In considering the themes of greed, duplicity, community, and sharing, I think there are so many better books to share with children in the 6-8 year old age range.

Was this review helpful?

This story was a bit long, but I liked it. It’s not one of those everything is happy and hunky dory stories. It reminds me of the folktales like Catskinella and The Two Jakes from The People Could Fly. There are real world consequences to real world problems, and if do do things wrong, karma will bite you in the bum. Literally in this case.

Was this review helpful?

Alas, gerbil, mouse and rat have survived the shipwreck, but now they have to survive out on the open sea in a lifeboat, with just enough food and water. What will they do? How will they survive this treacherous landscape? A similar structure to a Aseop's fable; this story teaches us about greed. Greed that in this case, can kill. If you are a fan of stories that educate a child on the pitfalls of selfish desires, this is a book for you.
#Netgalley

Was this review helpful?

I was given this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book dark and disturbing and it gave my son nightmares. I'm sure that it is trying to work to a more positive message or lesson, but the dark humor just doesn't land in a picture book intended for small children. I'm not sure what the author or publishing house is thinking when they work on this, but they need to take a step back as it boarders on being inappropriate.

Was this review helpful?

I pre-read this before reading it to my 6 and 8 year old. After reading it, I felt that it was too dark for my six year old, but I did read it to my 8 year old who didn't care much for it.. The story is a cautionary tale about greed, but I felt that there was such a continued loss of life that it made the moral difficult to comprehend. The illustrations felt very haphazard and unfinished. Overall, I would not suggest buying this book for a young child until you have pre-read to decide if your youngster would be okay reading this one.

Was this review helpful?

All in the Same Boat had my 11 year old son and I absolutely hooked from the first page. Reading this story made us feel so frustrated and even anxious because of the despicable nature of Rat. However, it is so well done. The bright watercolor illustrations contrast so well with the darkness of the story, and we read as fast as we could to find out what happens to the three characters (two of which we quickly grew to care for very much).

Here's my problem. It's described as a tale for 6-8 year olds. If I had to rate it as a story for 6-8 year olds, I'd have to give it 1 star, because I could not read this to second graders. I think it is way too dark. Now if I was going to read it as a cautionary tale for perhaps 5th grade and up then I would give it 5 stars because it is an amazing read. Reading it was almost painful to me. Rat is so awful, and the story is so unfair in ways, but that just means that the author did an amazing job of conveying the message of the story. Because I do think it's an amazing story, I want to rate it as if it is meant for older children and even adults. I highly recommend it for ages 11+.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reading copy.

#netGalley #allinthesameboat

Was this review helpful?

Beautiful illustrated children’s book and story grabs attention and truly gets you interested in the story. Book illustrations are very colourful. Author gets story across very well. Would highly recommend this book. I give this book 5 stars.

Was this review helpful?