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Dean Norman is publishing My Canoe Is a Magic Carpet, a free online collection of humorous stories about canoeing and kayaking adventures that's illustrated by colorful cartoons.

Dean Norman's  work has appeared in greeting cards,The New Yorker, MAD Magazine, The Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine and The Kansas City Star. He's also written comedy for cartoon shows and written and illustrated children's books. He illustrated a cartoon book for Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland Metroparks Adventures.

If you'd like to receive weekly chapters, send an email address to deannorman01@gmail.com.  Here is an excerpt from Chapter 2: Ozark Rivers.

It was a perfect day. Mid April. Sunshine. Blue sky. Fresh green leaves in the Ozark forest. Wildflowers and Redbud trees in bloom. No biting bugs. We launched our canoe into the Niangua river. Bette sat in the bow seat and occasionally dipped her paddle into the water. David and Susan, our two-and-a half-year-old twins, sat in the middle of the canoe on little plywood seats I made for them. I sat in the stern and steered. The river carried us forward at a perfect pace. Like a magic carpet.

The river current became faster as we swept around a bend, and toward some overhanging willow branches. I could see that our canoe was going to be pushed under the branches. I shouted, “Duck!” Bette ducked her head as the canoe bow went under the willows. David and Susan sat straight up and looked to see the duck. The branches smacked them in their faces. They were not seriously hurt, but hit hard enough to cry.

I apologized, and explained two different meanings for the word duck. “And after this, I will say get down instead of duck,” I promised.

Around the bend we floated straight through a calm pool and toward a high gray limestone cliff — an award-winning photo without any enhancement. I shouted, “Hello!” An echo shouted, “Hello!” Bette shouted, and we told David and Susan to shout and hear the echo answer them. Then wise old Dad told the kids what an echo is.

“An echo is a little animal that lives in small caves in cliffs. No one knows why, but an echo will repeat anything you say to it. Can you see a little animal looking out of any of those small caves? Well, it is hard to see them. They like to sit back a little way from the entrance of the cave so you can’t see them.”

We made many canoe trips on Ozark rivers from 1960 through 1964, and talked to the echos whenever we saw a high cliff.