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Very big Bear arrives at the pond in Tilly and the Little Boat.

Tilly and the Little Boat

Tilly the duck has a little red boat. Frog hops in, Mouse hops in, and the boat can still float. Then very big Bear asks to come too. Splash! Everyone ends up in the pond, and together they find a way for all of them to float.

Ages
3–7
Length
10 pop-up spreads, about 5 minutes
New words
float, sink
Modes
Read to me, I can read
Price
Free, no sign-up
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Inside the book

Tilly, Frog and Mouse in the little red boat.Everyone in the water after the boat sinks.The float-or-sink game on the grassy bank.

The two new words

floatTo stay up on top of the water. It comes up 8 times: the boat, the log, a leaf, and all the friends at the end.
sinkTo go down under the water. It comes up 6 times, and every time something really goes down through the page.

The text repeats on purpose (“The boat can float.” comes three times), so a pre-reader can say it along by page four. Every other word is a common word, like boat, big, little, water and friends.

Questions to ask while you read

Pause after each spread and ask one question. There are no right answers; the point is to get your child talking.

  1. What can you see at the pond?
  2. What colour is Tilly’s boat? Can you bob like a boat?
  3. Frog wants to come. Is there room?
  4. Mouse hops in too. Does the boat still float?
  5. Bear is very, very big. What do you think will happen?
  6. Oh no! Why did the boat sink?
  7. Bear feels too big. What could the friends do?
  8. Does the log sink? Why not?
  9. Guess first, then tap: will it float or sink?
  10. Who did you make room for today?

Tips for parents

  • First time: use Read to me and let your child just listen and watch.
  • Before page six, stop and ask “What will happen when Bear gets in?” Let them guess.
  • On the float-or-sink page, ask your child to guess out loud before every tap.
  • At bath time, try it for real: a sponge, a spoon, a toy boat. “Does it float or sink?”

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