Author: Chris Butterworth
Illustrator: Kate Nelms
Age Range: 5 – 9 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten – 4
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Release Date: August 6, 2013
Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Having a 16 month old daughter, my wife and I have had no shortage of visiting aquariums and amusement parks like Sea World. Due to this, our daughter has developed quite a love for aquatic life including seals. They are super cute and smart. When I heard about the book “See What a Seal Can Do”, I knew my daughter would love it. It is a fun and very engaging book which follows a gray seal on a journey from sand to sea. The book is an easy read and has become a frequent read for my daughter each day.
Official Premise: On the shore, a seal looks like a slow, dozy creature that spends its time lazing around or flumping along the sand. But underwater, it’s a different story. Splash! Seal dives deep, with a body just the right shape to shoot through the water and power down with his back flippers. He slips through a seaweed forest, and — sensing a predator nearby — dives even deeper to stay safe. Finally it’s time to make a sudden twist and turn to catch his fishy dinner.
In terms of the illustrations, the book delivers and is quite impressive. The underwater pages look great and the colors are very warm. From the front cover in fact, the whole book is very welcoming. It screams, let’s go have some fun and that is just what the book succeeds in doing. Besides the illustration, the text is a interesting mix of narrative sprinkled with facts making it interesting for both kids and adults.
