Find me....... (Find me a tiger - Lynley Dodd)

Member Name: tb4ms

Product:	Find me a tiger - Lynley Dodd
Date:	27/03/07 (149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful illustrations & a good introduction to the idea of camouflage & the habitats of animals.

Disadvantages: None

This is not so much a story but a look at the habitats / environments that animals live in.

In true, Lynley Dodd style this is all in rhyme as she invites the reader to find the animal in within the accompanying drawing.

Some excerpts below to give you an idea of the text:

'Deep in the jungle, cool and green, find me a tiger, long and lean.'

'Down on the rocks by a stormy bay, find me a seal in the salty spray.'

The following animals are used in the book:
* tiger
* lizard
* seal
* frog
* lion
* moth
* crocodile
* chick
* polar bear
* bird
* flounder
* fawn

After all of the habitats of the afore mentioned animals have been described and drawn, the reader is asked to 'find me a black cat on a rickety chair'. And by doing so she introduces a well-known character from some of her other books, that is, Slinky Malinki.

~ Style and Age Range ~

The text and illustrations are on alternate pages.

The vocabulary used in this book is so descriptive, it can therefore be used with:
~ young children (3-5) for the names of the animals, the rhyme and the great illustrations.
~ and older children (6-8) for literacy work, looking at descriptive vocabulary.
E.g
'In the tawny grass of an African plain, find me a lion with a tangled mane.'

'Out in the desert of a far-off land, find me a lizard in the sunburnt land.'

I have found in my experience that this does however appeal more consistently with the 5-6 year old age range as for very young children the vocabulary can be too advanced to keep their attention. They do however enjoy the hide and seek aspect and being the first to spot the camouflaged animals.

~ Illustrations ~

These are absolutely brilliant. The habitats of each animal has been cleverly drawn, making each one quite tricky to find as they are camouflaged.

This is Lynley Dodd's artistic ability at it's best!

~ Educational Value ~

* As with all Lynley Dodd's books it encourages children to identify and focus on rhyme, which enables them to join in after the first couple of readings.
* It is great for naming animals and some quite unusual animals are introduced, e.g a flounder
* It is a superb starting point for introducing the concept of camouflage with young children as they get a real idea of how tricky it is to find the animals in their natural habitats.
* With older children it is great for descriptive language and is a good basis for them to use descriptive vocabulary to describe animals and their habitats.

~ Price ~

My paperback ISBN: 0140544836 was £4.99


Cheaper used and new copies are available at www.amazon.co.uk starting from just 75p or take a trip to the library.

This is a beautifully illustrated book, very descriptive language with a lot of educational benefits but in my experience it doesn't hold very young children's attention in the same way that Hairy Maclary or Slinky Malinki do.

Summary: Another great book by Lynley Dodd but slightly less 'pacey' as some of her more well-known ones