Praise for Abby's Aquarium Adventures

BOOK REVIEW: ABBY’S AQUARIUM ADVENTURES
By: Judy Mann
Director of Sea World at uShaka Marine World
SAAMBR (South African Association of Marine Biological Research)

At last a book that introduces young readers to the exciting world of an aquarium. Abby’s Aquarium Adventures was a real pleasure to read and a welcome change to the common subject matter found in most children’s books. The book traces the adventures of Abby, an aquarist working at a public aquarium and introduces young readers to the fascinating work done in an aquarium. Abby’s Aquarium Adventures also gives readers a chance to learn more about some of the many interesting fish found in our oceans.

The book is clearly written in a language accessible to young readers. Well illustrated, the beautiful, colourful images clearly depict the themes of the different pages. The illustrations complement the text well to produce a book that is clear, interesting and lots of fun.

But, to really test the book I tried it out with a number of little people. After all, the book is aimed at youngsters. Without exception they all loved it! The pictures helped to clarify the new words and the text was easy to read by new readers. They found the subject matter intriguing and they were drawn into the story, asking what will happen next and really engaging with the topics. They loved the fish identification quiz at the end as it gave them a little ‘self test’ to do.

As the Director of uShaka Sea World and with many years of experience in Marine Education, I do not often have a chance to really share my work with little people. This book was a fun way to explain what happens at a place like uShaka Marine World in an entertaining way that really engaged the children. This is the first book of its kind to focus on the marine world, for the younger child, and it is a welcome addition to our resources for marine education. I look forward to reading and sharing more of Abby’s Aquarium Adventures.