Reviews
Title Information
Title: Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure
Author: Mamimo Chan
Publisher: PartridgeSingapore
ISBN: 978-1-5437-8199-1
Pages: 44
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book / Adventure Story
Reviewer: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
This story takes place in the backyard of a family’s house, with an adorable young girl, Sue, along with her siblings. They are doing gardening work and Sue is asked if she would like to start the lawn mower. Happily, she runs over to her brother who is putting in the gas, and she yanks the starting cord as hard as she could. Ultimately her tenacity pays off and the mower begins to roar with the motor revving. Then the family embarks on building an outdoor pond. They first dig the hole in the grass, then line the pond with sand and rocks and lay bricks around the perimeter. After allowing some time for the sand to settle, Sue’s brother fills the pond with a garden hose and instructs Sue as to the proper details of using the hose, providing a net to prevent siphoning into the hose any fish or debris, and how to maintain the water level. All these details are a lot for Sue to remember; one day she drains the pond to see the fish better as a fish gets sucked into the opening of the hose! She then removes the fish gently and places it back in the pond but remembers that she forgot to use the fish net at the end of the hose to prevent such an accident.
The sequence of illustrations in the book enables the story to be visualized by the readers, and there are several take-aways from the activity of Sue. First, don’t give up – as shown by the pulling of the starting cord of the lawn mower. Secondly, it requires planning and a team-effort to build anything big, like a pond for fish. And another important lesson is to pay attention to the safety details of handling live fish as they can be hurt or even killed by negligence. Coupled with the picture-text interleaving of the book, the morals come through to the readers in an entertaining and happy way, showing kindness of the siblings and humor of Sue’s enthusiasm.
Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure by author Mamimo Chan is a book children will love to read, or be read too, time-and-time again. It’s fun, colorful, and shows the spirit of Sue helping her older siblings to build a pond and fill it with fish. It certainly will be enjoyed in any family library with youngsters beginning to enjoy their reading experience. Highly recommended for young adventurers and nature enthusiasts alike!
Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure
by Mamimo Chan
Partridge Publishing Singapore
book review by Joyce Jacobo
“I found doing these chores with my family fun.”
Young Sue enjoys spending Sundays doing yard work with her three older siblings, who are often busy throughout the rest of the week. She helps wherever possible. One day, her siblings announce their intention to create a pond area, which makes Sue especially excited. She looks forward to having some fish friends in addition to her pet dog, Sunny. The siblings work together to create the foundation of the pond, and over the course of several weeks, they put in the sand, water, and other elements appropriate for that environment. Sue learns about capillary action from her brother, used in moving the water about, and before long they have a nice fishpond. There is an occasion when Sue seeks to clean out the pond all by herself and accidentally sucks a fish into the hose in the process. However, she comes to the rescue just in time, and everyone laughs about it later. The project brings their family closer than ever.
It is refreshing to come across a story about siblings who get along so well despite their different ages. Sue is quite young, but she gets regular, weekly opportunities to spend quality time with her older sisters and brother. This story sets a good example for young readers by showing family members engaged in outdoor activities, creating fond memories together in the same way they create the fishpond. The whole concept is simply wholesome and fun to read about. Further, it is a nice way to introduce children to the science of capillary action, which could lead to a live demonstration of the concept. This tale is especially appropriate for children in large families like Sue’s, who might worry about being left out of fun activities due to their age. Sue demonstrates that they can still contribute in their own special ways but that they should be thoughtful and responsible while doing so.
Reviews
Title Information
Title: Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure
Author: Mamimo Chan
Publisher: PartridgeSingapore
ISBN: 978-1-5437-8199-1
Pages: 44
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book / Adventure Story
Reviewer: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
This story takes place in the backyard of a family’s house, with an adorable young girl, Sue, along with her siblings. They are doing gardening work and Sue is asked if she would like to start the lawn mower. Happily, she runs over to her brother who is putting in the gas, and she yanks the starting cord as hard as she could. Ultimately her tenacity pays off and the mower begins to roar with the motor revving. Then the family embarks on building an outdoor pond. They first dig the hole in the grass, then line the pond with sand and rocks and lay bricks around the perimeter. After allowing some time for the sand to settle, Sue’s brother fills the pond with a garden hose and instructs Sue as to the proper details of using the hose, providing a net to prevent siphoning into the hose any fish or debris, and how to maintain the water level. All these details are a lot for Sue to remember; one day she drains the pond to see the fish better as a fish gets sucked into the opening of the hose! She then removes the fish gently and places it back in the pond but remembers that she forgot to use the fish net at the end of the hose to prevent such an accident.
The sequence of illustrations in the book enables the story to be visualized by the readers, and there are several take-aways from the activity of Sue. First, don’t give up – as shown by the pulling of the starting cord of the lawn mower. Secondly, it requires planning and a team-effort to build anything big, like a pond for fish. And another important lesson is to pay attention to the safety details of handling live fish as they can be hurt or even killed by negligence. Coupled with the picture-text interleaving of the book, the morals come through to the readers in an entertaining and happy way, showing kindness of the siblings and humor of Sue’s enthusiasm.
Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure by author Mamimo Chan is a book children will love to read, or be read too, time-and-time again. It’s fun, colorful, and shows the spirit of Sue helping her older siblings to build a pond and fill it with fish. It certainly will be enjoyed in any family library with youngsters beginning to enjoy their reading experience. Highly recommended for young adventurers and nature enthusiasts alike!
Sue’s Splashy Surprise: A Pond-ering Adventure
by Mamimo Chan
Partridge Publishing Singapore
book review by Joyce Jacobo
“I found doing these chores with my family fun.”
Young Sue enjoys spending Sundays doing yard work with her three older siblings, who are often busy throughout the rest of the week. She helps wherever possible. One day, her siblings announce their intention to create a pond area, which makes Sue especially excited. She looks forward to having some fish friends in addition to her pet dog, Sunny. The siblings work together to create the foundation of the pond, and over the course of several weeks, they put in the sand, water, and other elements appropriate for that environment. Sue learns about capillary action from her brother, used in moving the water about, and before long they have a nice fishpond. There is an occasion when Sue seeks to clean out the pond all by herself and accidentally sucks a fish into the hose in the process. However, she comes to the rescue just in time, and everyone laughs about it later. The project brings their family closer than ever.
It is refreshing to come across a story about siblings who get along so well despite their different ages. Sue is quite young, but she gets regular, weekly opportunities to spend quality time with her older sisters and brother. This story sets a good example for young readers by showing family members engaged in outdoor activities, creating fond memories together in the same way they create the fishpond. The whole concept is simply wholesome and fun to read about. Further, it is a nice way to introduce children to the science of capillary action, which could lead to a live demonstration of the concept. This tale is especially appropriate for children in large families like Sue’s, who might worry about being left out of fun activities due to their age. Sue demonstrates that they can still contribute in their own special ways but that they should be thoughtful and responsible while doing so.