“After weeks at sea, we finally spotted the monster.”
Dr. Pierre Arronax and his assistant are on the case – a mysterious being keeps sinking ships all over the ocean.
But just as they make their move to take down the monster (with the help of a sailor and his harpoon), they discover that their “monster” was actually a submarine!
“The submarine rammed into our ship. Ned, Consell, and I were tossed overboard into the waves.”
Luckily, the submarine’s captain (Nemo) takes the three aboard and so begins their adventure – beautiful underwater landscapes, stunning sea creatures, and one man’s quest for revenge…
“I knew that Captain Nemo’s hatred of the rest of the world was a danger to us and his crew. … We knew we had to escape from the Nautilus — and soon.”
I’ll admit, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea but reading this version makes me excited to pick up the original again.
For those who are unfamiliar, Lit for Little Hands is an board book series that takes classic literature and breaks them down for kids. It gives a (kid-friendly) overview of the original story and includes quotes from the source material.
My favorite part is the interactive element. Every page has something you can play with.
One page has a porthole window full of sea life that you can spin to make them “swim” around.
Another page has a little submarine that you can lift up and down to show the crew breaking through the south pole ice.
A third page has a pull tab you can move to help the crew escape the giant cuttlefish.
Now, I’ve collected every single Lit for Little Hands book ever published and I’m so excited to add this one to my collection.
That being said, this book did feel like it was on a higher reading/comprehension level than the Lit for Little Hands that I’m used to. There were more abstract concepts and not quite adult themes, but themes of revenge and pity that might be go over the heads of the younger ones.
If my memory serves, the original book could be dense beast at times, and to condense it down to a board book would be a feat – so that is something to keep in mind!
I think the gorgeous illustrations and the beautiful interactive elements helped balance the narrative – my baby really didn’t follow what was happening but boy-oh-boy did his eyes glue to the page when I spun around the pretty animals or moved the clam shells open-and-shut.
All in all, I think this one is worthy of my Lit for Little Hands shelf and I’m happy to have it.
With thanks to Familius Publishing for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review
Miranda Reads 