BooksforTopics Reading for Pleasure Recommendations

Book Title: Splash Day

Author & Illustrator: Nick Sharratt

Publisher: Barrington Stoke

Publication Date: July 2018

Most Suitable For: Age 5-8

Splash Day is the latest addition to Barrington Stoke’s highly recommendable ‘Little Gems’ series, which brings together popular children’s authors and illustrators to produce stories with clever design features and super-readable layout that make them appealing and accessible to newly independent readers who may not be quite ready for full chapter books.

This Little Gem is written and illustrated by multi-award-winning Nick Sharratt and is buckets of fun to read on a hot, summery day. The simple story, about a class that has been awarded a day of water fights and paddling pools as a reward for working so hard, was inspired by a real visit to a school that holds a ‘splash day’ treat annually.

The children in the class are equipped with goggles, wellies and inflatables ready for a day of watery fun and even the teachers are ready to join in. There is plenty of rhyme and alliteration in the text and a funny twist waiting at the end. Coupled with Nick Sharratt’s signature-style bold and colourful illustrations, the book is a joy to read.

Children in the 5-8 age bracket who remember listening to Nick Sharratt’s younger books like Chocolate Mousse for Greedy Goose and Goat Goes to Playgroup as toddlers will be delighted to find a book in his wonderfully appealing and familiar style designed for them to be are able to access independently.

We also enjoyed the jokes and puzzles inside the jacket, a feature shared with the other Little Gems books.

See also our recent review of Mariella, Queen of the Skies, another Little Gem book from Barrington Stoke.

Order Splash Day online or from your local bookshop or library.

Many thanks to the publisher for kindly sending me a review copy of this book.