Reviewed by Kathleen Grace
This is her third book in the MerTales series by author illustrator Rebecca Timmis.
Colours are disappearing from
Cockleshell Cove! The bright coral reed is grey and dull, and even the
clownfish feel threatened. The MerTales crew are worried their bright tails
might be next. Sandy sets out to investigate with the help of her friends,
Pearly, Shell, and Coral. However, the mysterious rainbow thief moves faster
than anything they have seen. The question is: can the mer-crew catch the thief
and bring back Cockleshell Cove’s beautiful rainbow?
Author Timmis sets the scene and dives
straight into the action in the undersea world with her smart language choices
and simple sentences moving the story along at a brisk pace. The text immerses
the reader with clever puns and verb choices. The sea themed word play is woven
throughout every page with font of different sizes and shapes.
Timmis’ illustrations are cartoonish
and depicted in greys and whites with splashes of green. The characters’
movements and expressions show personality and individuality. On double page
spreads there are lots of detail with the main characters in focus and the
others gathered around in places in the background. The Mertales are shown
working together but also individually.
MerTails – The Mysterious Rainbow Thief is
a well-written and devised junior fiction book for children aged 6-9 years who
love a mystery to solve. This story has easy to read text that suits this age
group perfectly and the illustrations support the text with characters that are
dynamic and fun.
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