This week, B is mostly wanting Julia Donaldson’s Sharing a Shell, and I’m probably to blame, because it is one of my favourites, so I’ve proably pushed it at her quite a lot before now.
But she’s obviously getting a lot out of it right now. What exactly, I sometimes wonder? Well: really bright strong illustrations. Lydia Monks’ work is not to everybody’s taste, but I feel that it works well here, maybe because humans are only background figures. As an added bonus, ours is one the editions with generous amounts of textured glitter on all the pages.
Then there’s Julia Donaldson’s catchy, effortlessly bouncy text. You really can tell that she comes from a songwriting background. The text is a joy to read, even when you’re as full of a cold as I am. The regular chorus pages encourage children to join in, and the repeated use of “Look!” (and one “Listen!” when B puts her finger to her ear) helps to rehook a child’s attention.
Only problem with it: you try saying “Sharing a Shell” without lapsing into a Sean Connery impression, and then you tend to be stuck with that voice all day.
2 Responses to “Sharing a Shell”