Secrets of the Seashore by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner
| Secrets of the Seashore by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner | |
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| Category: Children's Non-Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Zoe Morris
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| Summary: A fun look at life in and around the sea, this has pages that come to life before your lives. Educational but fun too. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 36 | Date: April 2014 |
| Publisher: Ivy Press | |
| ISBN: 978-1782401100 | |
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This book starts in a rock pool. It’s not a boring, quiet, calm place, though, it’s bustling with life, and with every page that turns we learn more about the mysterious creatures that live within it. You might not see them at first, but with a hint of magic they appear.
The feature of this book is pages that reveal hidden pictures when you shine a torch against them or hold them up to a light, in much the same way as the hidden watermark on a note of British currency disappears and reappears. This is quirky but it works well and the pictures really pop each time they emerge. However you need to be aware that it’s not like a Magic Eye book in that the pictures aren’t really hidden to start with – they’re printed on the other side of each page in black ink, so if you’re the one doing the reading rather than having it read to you, it’s a teensy bit less magical.
This is a bit of an older pitched picture book than some, for both the coordination needed to hold the pages correctly to reveal the hidden images, and the vocabulary: we’re not talking about fish and shells, it’s barnacles, anemones, whelks and oystercatchers.
It’s quite a scientific, factual book and I know for a fact I wouldn’t have given this book a second glance as a child. It is far too full of nature and reality when primary school me wanted action and adventure, and though I lived by the coast, I was all about splashing noisily in the sea, not gazing quietly and carefully into glorified puddles. But for a child who loves the seaside and nature, it is truly magical. There’s lots to see and appreciate but also lots to learn and it definitely has the fun factor too.
Thanks go to the publishers for supplying this book.
Secrets of the Apple Tree by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner employs the same light up design in a different setting, and is worth a look.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Secrets of the Seashore by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Secrets of the Seashore by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner at Amazon.com.
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