One way to get your five a day! (Zigby Hunts for Treasure - Brian Paterson)

Member Name: kingfisher111

Product:	Zigby Hunts for Treasure - Brian Paterson
Date:	14/10/09 (113 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: fun story and illustrations

Disadvantages: none

On a recent visit to the library my youngest daughter picked up this book by Brian Paterson called 'Zigby hunts for Treasure'. I hadn't heard of the book or the author before, but on a quick flick through, it looked very bright and colourful and promised to be a fun story so we added it to our selection.

Once we had got home and picked up the book to read, I realised that there are actually a number of books about Zigby the zebra and his two friends, Bertie Bird and McMeer who is a cheeky little meercat. Before starting the story there is an introductory page telling you all about the three characters and where they live in Mudwater Creek which I found very helpful. Apparently, as it says on this page:

'there are always new places to explore and wonderful adventures waiting to happen but sometimes he (Zigby) can't help trotting straight into trouble!'

This sounded great and it summed up exactly what was about to happen in the story!

The story starts one early morning when the three friends plan a day out in their canoe. After they set off they see a bottle floating in the water with a piece of rolled up paper sticking out the top. It turns out to be a map of Parrot Island and has a large X right in the middle. They think that it must be treasure so they set off to find Parrot Island, only the three hapless friends keep incurring problems o=along the way such as reading the map upside down and going round in circles!

AS they move forward in their quest, the three very different characters emerge, Zigby is quite brave and fearless and up for any big adventure. Bertie is timid and cautious and pretty unsure that they should be travelling quite so far from home. McMeer likes playing practical jokes such as making the long rope bridge wobble greatly as the friends try to cross it. It is interesting, even in a simple children's book like this one, to see how the different characters react to each other, and this can make a good talking point with young children.

Lots of different things happen in the story, but because of its simple style, nothing is gone into in much detail. This style would probably suit children who like lots of action, but probably not those who like lots of vivid description. The story is supported well though by some lovely bright and bold illustrations. My daughters particularly liked the page where the trio thought that someone or something was watching them and yes, there were definitely sets of eyes peering out from the trees!

After lots of goings on the friends do eventually find the place where X marks the spot and yes there is treasure there but not exactly what they were expecting which makes a nice twist in the tail. I'm not going to tell you what it is but will just say that the three friends won't have any trouble having their five a day in future.

Zigby hunts for Treasure is a fun book to share with young children. It's simple language and colourful pictures make it very accessible and a nice easy read for children just becoming more confident in their independent reading like my six year old daughter. The book is available from Amazon for as little as one pence and definitely worth looking out for at your local library.

Summary: A great book for little children