Mertales: The mysterious rainbow thief by Rebecca Timmis

This was a Fin-tastic book.

Four friends, Pear Periwinkle, Shell Shimmerfins, Coral Clearwater and Sandy Starfish are faced with a mystery – all of the colour in Cockleshell Cove is disappearing. The friends decide they need to try and solve this mystery before all of the colour disappears and everything turns grey.

Sandy thought she could catch the colour thief by herself, she has read all the Merlock Holmes books and believes she can solve this herself. As the colour continues to disappear Sandy starts to realize she can’t catch the colour thief by herself. This is too big a job for one mermaid. Once Sandy accepts her friends' help and the four friends work together combining their individual strengths, they are able to catch the colour thief and restore colour to Cockleshell Cove. Sandy learns that working as a team can help get the job done.

The fin facts at the back of the book adds an extra element to this novel. The fun illustrations in this book also add another element to the story.

This book can be used to support the concept of working as part of a team to achieve a collective goal.

I recommend this early novel to anyone who likes mermaids and enjoys fishy puns. There are three more books in the set so if you enjoy this one I am sure you will enjoy the others.

Themes: Mermaids, Marine animals, Stealing, Colour.

Karen Colliver