Australia under the sea 1, 2, 3 by Frane Lessac
Walker Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781760652272.
(Age: 1+) Highly recommended. Stunning illustrations and easy to
understand information about marine life make this an outstanding
picture book. The reader will be enticed in by the beautifully
designed front cover with its green/blue background and shiny sea
creatures and once inside will be fascinated by the detail not only
of the illustrations but by the information that is offered.
Starting with counting the ocean creatures, 1, 2, 3 on a coral reef,
the opposite page then gives facts about coral, with all the text
set in easy-to-read black type against the ocean with a myriad of
creatures living in it. Following this is a magnificent giant whale
shark that covers both pages to show its size and from then on
readers will be enthralled with pictures of 2 shy dugongs, 3 playful
clownfish, 4 clever dolphins and so on until they reach 12 tired
seahorses. The information about each creature and its habitat is
organised in one or two concise, easy to read sentences that will
give young readers enough to stimulate their interest, while older
readers will want to go on to deeper research.
Astute readers will want to pick out each of the colourful creatures
on the summary page about the importance of coral reefs and then
return to the front pages after reading the book to see if they can
find and identify all the creatures that have featured in the count
to 12. There is also a final double page spread with the numbers 1
to 12 and the corresponding creatures for an easy way to continue
counting to 12 for the young reader.
This book is a wonderful introduction not only to counting from 1 to
12, but to the unique marine life that lives in a coral reef.
Teachers will be able to use this when looking at the ocean, and it
is particularly useful if children are interested in the Great
Barrier Reef and conservation.
A companion to Australian baby animals, this would be ideal
in any library and classroom and is certainly a keeper for me.
Pat Pledger
