Title: Danny McGee Drinks the Sea
Author: Andy Stanton
Illustrator: Neal Layton
Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books

As a teaching staff, we were less sure of Danny McGee Drinks the Sea than of other picture books. Initially, we weren’t convinced of the plot, and found the ending quite abrupt. However, the children’s enthusiasm for it changed our minds.

New story books are quite a regular occurrence in the Quails class at Netley Marsh CE Infant School. But, from the moment they saw the front cover, the children were keen to know more.

Ewan said: “That makes me laugh. I want to look inside!” Others noticed the writing in the sand and talked about letters that appeared in their names. Writing and letter formation is a focus in our class, and so their interest in letters in the sand made a useful link to activities that happen in our classroom.

Alice commented that she would like to use a straw that big, but “not to drink the sea, because sea water tastes yucky!” This led to conversations about swimming in the sea, holidays and sea creatures.

The children at our school enjoy lots of time in the school library and we have been talking about what makes us choose particular books. So, without prompting, they started talking about whether we could buy the book for our library.

Lochlann said: “I would like to take the book home so I can find out what happens.”

And Harry said: “I could take it from the library and read it on the beach.”

Sand between his toes

The blurb of the book suggests that Danny’s sister has a surprising way to stop the mayhem. This led to lots of talk about how she may have gone about this. The children were convinced that she would make Danny stand in the sea, so that the cold water and sand between his toes would stop him drinking.

Neal Layton’s pictures are a mixture of illustrations and photos, which give the book a unique feel. The organisation of the text around the pictures makes each new page interesting and engaging. At many points, the children wanted to stop to look more closely at the pictures, which led to lots of conversations about the content.

Children were particularly interested in the pictures of things linked to America, as well as things considered typically British in the picture of London. We talked about what pictures would be included if there was a map of Netley Marsh.

One page in particular includes a photo of Andy Stanton, the author, which really fired up the conversations. Following a recent author visit at school, the Quails are very keen to know the names of books’ authors. So the photo brought to life the fact the authors are real people, and reminded them that we can all make up stories.

Homeless sea creatures

The story itself is written in rhyming passages which, at this point in the early-years foundation stage, is very relevant.

Once Danny McGee has drunk the sea, the children were concerned about the creatures left without homes. During a conversation about what these creatures could do, Alice told everyone that some could live on the land and would actually be OK without the sea. This led us to look up various creatures, to check if she was correct and to see what would survive Danny’s drinking the sea.

Having read the story on countless occasions now, the children still ask for it and remain keen to borrow it. Reviewing this book has certainly reminded me to involve children’s opinions in our book choices more, and is one reason why our class book selection is chosen by the children themselves and refreshed on a weekly basis.

Overall, when asked, 90 per cent of our class said they liked this book and would want to take it home.

Matt Perrett is head of learning at Netley Marsh CE Infant School, in Southampton.

If you or your class would like to write a review for TES, please contact Adi Bloom, on adi.bloom@tesglobal.com

Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow TES on Twitter and like TES on Facebook