Who Sank the Boat?

Who sank the boat? Was it the cow or the donkey or the sheep with her knitting? Surely it wasn’t the tiny little mouse?

Winner of the 1983 Australian Picture Book of the Year Award and NZ’s Gaelyn Gordon Award for a best-loved book, this wonderfully illustrated book is designed for sharing aloud – and will make children giggle as they guess which animal spoilt a day’s rowing by sinking the boat. Ages 2+. Author Biography Pamela Allen is a phenomenon in the world of children’s books. In twenty-four years she has produced thirty-three picture books, many of which have won prestigious awards and commendations both in Australia and overseas. She is the first illustrator to have won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award two years running, for Who Sank the Boat? (1983) and Bertie and the Bear (1984). Some of Pamela’s other awards include the NSW Premier’s Literary Award, the AIM Book Award (New Zealand) and the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour Diploma for Illustration.

Author Biography

Pamela Allen is a phenomenon in the world of children’s literature. For almost thirty years her picture books have enchanted generations of children in Australia and overseas and many ofaher titlesahave won prestigious awards and commendations. She has earned classic status through the enduring popularity of her stories with the very young. a Pamela’s books are full of the music of language; they are ‘fragments of theatre’, designed to be read aloud and shared between an adult and a child. Eight of Pamela’s titles were adapted for the stage by Patch Theatre Company, and performed in theaSydney Opera House. In 2004, Grandpa and Thomas won the Children’s Book Council Book of the Year Award- Early Childhood and The Potato People was named an Honour Book in the same category in 2003, and Grandpa and Thomas and the Green Umbrella was shortlisted for the same award in 2007, as was Shhh! Little Mouse in 2008. Is Your Grandmother a Goanna? won a 2008 Speech Pathology of Australia Book of the Year Award, as did Our Daft Dog Danny in 2010. a ‘From Pamela Allen’s first publication in 1980 it was clear that here was a creator of picture books with all the glow, gesture, din and dance to capture the attention, engage the imagination, teach, show, tickle and excite small children.’ Meg Sorensen, Australian Book Review a Pamela Allen lives in New Zealand with her husband.