Who Sank the Boat?

In this picture book, a cow gets into one end of a boat and a donkey climbs into the other end to balance it. Next, a pig and a sheep get in on either side and sit opposite each other. Finally, the mouse leaps in and the boat sinks! 

 

Children can practise counting each animal as they get into the boat in order to keep track of how many animals are in the boat at each stage. There are also links to measures, as children can think about different weights and how to make things balance. Children might like to predict which other combinations of animals would sink the boat - would five mice sink the boat? What about five donkeys?