Out in the Moana

'Out in the Moana' is set to the rhyme of the counting classic 'Over in the Meadow', with offspring mirroring their parent's instructions. The parents are a mix of both mothers and fathers as in their real life roles, such as the seahorse (Kiore moana) who directs his young to "Grip!". "We grip", reply the young seahorses as they hang on to seaweed with their tails in the strong current.

There is a feeling of being transported underwater thanks to the illustrations by Jenny Cooper, dappled light filters through and across the seals starting you on an aquatic journey through the sea. The combination of pencil and watercolour, gives depth to the images and combined with interesting perspective the sea creatures seem to jump off each page (watch out for the sharks!).

There is a handy guide at the end (Te Reo Māori names included) that gives a little bit more information about each creature and how many offspring they have, e.g. Māui dolphins having one to Octopus (wheke) having thousands!

The combination of the classic rhyming structure, large-scale illustrations and the counting to ten make this a fabulous read aloud. The cover states "A New Zealand favourite picture book" and I would agree!