Children’s Book Review UK

Colin Rescues Slippy : Colin the Coastguard Series Book 1

Jack Says: At bedtime we had a book about Colin the Coastguard. A coastguard is a bit like a policeman who lives by the sea. Colin as a dog called Rocky and the look after a seagull that is covered in oil. Meggy thought it was funny when the seagull was in the bath covered in bubbles. My favourite part of the book is the seagulls flying - I really wish I could fly and asked Daddy if I can have a jet pack when I am six.

There was a quiz at the end of the book and we looked for things in the story and counted windows.

Daddy Says: Colin the Coastguard is the first of a new series of books aimed at pre-schoolers and up. The hero is a coastguard and his dog, which could lead to all kinds adventures in further books. The story is clear and short enough to keep the kids attention and leave time for 10 questions on the last page. This book has obviously been written as a story, rather than cobbled together like many of our similar hero books spun from TV series (Roary the Racing Car, Bob the Builder etc). Perhaps the characters will get their own show one day.

The text in the book is simple enough that Jack (a decent enough reader in Year 1) could read on his own with some little help. This would make an interesting change from his “first readers” from school which often sacrifice good prose in their main function as a learning aid. For much younger children, the pictures and the story are enough and the “Search Mission” at the end has some opportunities for simple counting.

The children got involved in the characters and their different emotions, which come through in the story as well as in the simple but characterful illustrations. The thing that makes this book is the “Search Mission” at the end. Finding and counting things in the book finished off the evening with a bit of fun and a tiny healthy competition between the children. The idea is a coastguard style “Search” that involves thumbing back through the book and looking for the answers. The best question for me was actually one that the children could answer from memory - “What present did Slippy give to Colin?”. Recalling a part of the story seemed to generate more excitement in the children than going back to find a picture and doing some easy counting.

A good start to a new series and already has 5 Stars at Amazon