Andrea Rowe (text) and Hannah Sommerville (illustrator), In the Rockpool, Hardie Grant Children’s Books, November 2023, 24 pp., RRP $19.99 (board), ISBN 9781761213014
One little rockpool. Two little eyes. Three little urchins, bobbing with the tide… In the Rockpool is an exquisite counting board book for little readers to dive into.
Andrea Rowe’s clear, simple text explores the creatures in a seaside rockpool, paired with Hannah Sommerville’s beautiful and translucent artwork. There is a lovely sense of light and colour on every page that make this book feel like a perfect summer’s day, and the diverse array of little ones exploring the beach, the rocks, and the pools are a delight. The expressions of wonder and joy on their faces as they peered into the rockpools bring a smile to my own face every time I pick up this book.
Care is taken with this environment, too, as ten careful toes dabble in the water and the children are shown looking, but not touching any of the creatures.
One of the things I enjoyed about In the Rockpool is that it feels so much like places I know, and wonderful family moments that I’ve had at the beach. In a handful of pages and words, Rowe and Sommerville have caught that sense of familiar joy.
On a practical note, the tougher construction of the pages, which fall somewhere between a board book and a paperback, will stand up to a lot of handling and love from little readers. This is a great book to enjoy with young ones from 6 months to 3 years, and if you’re looking for something to give or send to a child for a slightly different slice of Australian childhood, this is the book for you.
Reviewed by Emily Clarke
