Little Tiger Press ISBN: 9781788816311 £6.99
This is one of a series of beautifully colourful board books populated with appealing characters with peep throughs and felt flaps for little fingers to lift. The formula: where is X hiding? is a time-honoured favourite with babies and toddlers and builds from their enjoyment of Peek-a-boo games. In this story, Mermaid is hiding and so the reader is encouraged to look for her features: wavy hair, swishy tail, shiny scales and so on and peer through cut outs or lift flaps in the watery depths. This way, they are encouraged to recognise and compare shapes and colours, to learn about creatures such as dolphins, octopuses, seahorses and seashells as well as the stalwarts of future sea tales they will learn to enjoy – sunken wrecks and treasure chests! There is much to look at, talk about and enjoy in this deceptively simple text with narwhals, jellyfish, turtles and clownfish amongst the pages. Who lost the key to the treasure chest with its broken string lying on the seabed? What made the huge hole in the ship and who once looked out of the portholes? What happens when a hermit crab outgrows its shell and why do seahorses wind their tails around seaweed? Nursery and Reception classes, (aged 5 – 7), could use this to enjoy and discuss, to make their own underwater scenes from shoeboxes as well as to lay the groundwork for The Little Mermaid classic written and film text in later years.
Sue Barrett
