OVER AND UNDER THE WAVES – BOOK REVIEW

By Kate Messner and art by Christopher Silas Neal

“Over the waves we paddle, away from the beach to the water’s deep blue.”

We’ve reviewed an “Over and Under” book before, so we were thrilled when we heard Over and Under the Waves was coming out! If you’ve not come across the series before, they’re fab, informative, living books about children exploring different environments – this one is a charming, gentle tale about a girl kayaking on the Pacific coast with her parents, and all the lovely wildlife she gets to see!

There’s everything from sea otters and leopard sharks, to sea urchins and red abalone included, with a special appearance from some humpback whales! Mr 9 was particularly chuffed with the inclusion of the decorator crab, (he’s a huge crustacean fan!) and we’ve had some lovely sessions researching them since reading the book. As with previous Over and Under books, there’s a lovely section at the back that has a short paragraph of information about each of the creatures and plants mentioned – super helpful and educational when you’ve got inquisitive little ones! And there’s sure to be something you’ve not heard of before!

The illustrations are delightful, with plenty of interesting things to spot, and really set the scene well. The calming blues envelop you as you turn the pages, and you can almost feel the coast around you! The book is suitable for a wide range of ages – toddlers will love the simple, gentle story, while older kids will be fascinated by all the creatures and the “real life” aspect to the tale. And there’s so much information in there, your kids will learn a whole load without even trying!

Over and Under the Waves is a wonderful book that all mini nature enthusiasts will love! It combines story and fact beautifully, and will enchant your children with its depth and potential. (Get ready to be asked when you can go kayaking!!!) I’ve already lost count of the number of times we’ve read it! We’ll definitely be looking out for more books from the series as they’re a real treat and make for a brilliant, peaceful story time!

Over and Under the Waves can be bought direct from Abrams and Chronicle, or found on amazon.co.uk or amazon.com

We were gifted our copy of Over and Under the Waves – thank you so much Abrams and Chronicle!!!