Frances Lincoln Children’s Books ISBN 9781847808820 £6.99
This hardback book is recommended for ages 3+ but even my 2 year old daughter was able to take great delight from its bright and bold illustrations and easy to follow lift-the-flaps activities. Each page focuses on a particular aquatic animal to find hiding beneath the flaps, and children are invited to explore the shimmering and multi-coloured world beneath the ocean. It is the simple premise that makes it so effective at engaging children, testing them as it does to identify all the pairs on the pages – but with one trick, there is an odd one out in every set! The educational aspect goes beyond the matching exercise too – with extensions woven in for counting (can you find five starfish?) and patterns (can you spot 11 stripy stones?). There is also a description which sits alongside each creature lurking in the depths (‘Turtles have a pretty shell, and flappy flipper feet, as well’) and the rhyming-couplet nature of these introductions make them memorable and great fun – a big plus for younger children who are perhaps exploring factual texts for the first time. A fun and informative book that is sturdy enough to take the many re-uses that it will inevitably get at home or in the classroom! Great for themes on ocean life or homes and animals.
Laura Davies, Project Development Coordinator for Fair Foundations, Chwarae Teg
