Who's Afraid of the Light
By Author / Illustrator
Anna McGregor
Genre
Non Fiction
Age range(s)
5+
Publisher
Scribe Publications
ISBN
9781914484353
Format
Hardback
Published
13-07-2023
Synopsis
Fergus lives down in the deepest, darkest sea and is scared of just one thing ... the light!
From award-winning creator Anna McGregor (author of Anemone is Not the Enemy) comes this hilarious tale of the deepest of sea creatures. Seamlessly combining humor, narrative, and nonfiction, McGregor introduces young readers to the wonders of the ocean's 'midnight zone', where no sunlight at all is able to penetrate. We meet Fergus as he hides from a parade of sea creatures that use bioluminescence to find their way in the dark. At least, we think he is hiding ... or is it something else entirely?
Reviews
Jane
A glow-in-the-dark cover. Now that's appealing for a start (although this book is eye-catching even in daylight). Open it up and you immediately get a sense that, while it belongs in 'non-fiction', it doesn't take its subject entirely seriously. After all, who's heard of seagulls in sunglasses or talking dolphins, not to mention Fergus? He talks too, but we can't see him and he has a habit of disappearing. Perhaps he's a coward, as one Year 3 said when shown the book. Another Year 2 child was drawn in by the hint of a monsters.
The intrigue builds and builds as we piece together a picture of Fergus until, in the flash of a camera, we get a nasty surprise! There is a monster in the deep and it's not the fiercesome-looking dragonfish, spookfish or vampire squid. These we can see are all well adapted to life in the dark, as the final double page explains, but perhaps even they should be afraid of ending up as a tasty meal for a yet more fiercesome predator....
The humour, the illustrations, the story-like presentation of facts: all make this a hugely attractive book for the primary school library, classroom book corner or bedroom bookcase. Reading for pleasure just got more pleasurable still.
Suggested Reading Age 7+