Daisy Dawson at the Beach, written by Steve Voake, illustrated by Jessica Messerve, 89 pp, RL 2

DAISY DAWSON AT THE BEACH is now in PAPERBACK!

Steve Voake and Jessica Messerve's intrepid friend and interpreter of animals, Daisy Dawson, is back and this time she's on vacation! Daisy Dawson at the Beach begins with Daisy saying goodbye to her friends and fellow adventurers, classroom gerbils, Burble and Furball. As she walks home she says her farewells to her other friends as well, trying hard to explain to squirrels Hazel and Conker exactly what the seashore is.

Before she can even pack her suitcase, Daisy wakes up to find a little sparrow on her windowsill, coughing, a larger sparrow patting him on the back with his wing. Turns out the little fellow has a piece of toast stuck in his throat. Daisy knows just how to take care of that! She runs downstairs and returns with a bit of orange soda. The fizz makes Harry a little bonkers at first, but as he happily flaps around he tells her that it's all clear - "Throat clear, eyes clear, head clear. And my beak's all bibbly-bubbly." Then the two fly off so that Flapperton can show Harry how to do loop-the-loops.

Once at the beach, Daisy and family begins a peaceful vacation. Of course, things don't stay quiet for long, not with Daisy and her ability to talk to the animals. While fetching water for tea, she meets Rabsy and Raberta, tow rabbits with very big imaginations and crazy ideas about how the world works.
Intrigued by Daisy and her plans to surf, they ask if she can take them along. Daisy agrees and on her way to the shore meets Pinchy, a dancing, pinching snappy little crab. After a bit of scolding from Daisy for pinching her toe, the two enjoy a little dance together that ends just in time for Pinchy to scuttle back into the water before the seagulls swoop down looking for lunch.
Surfing goes well until Rabsy falls off and Daisy has to rescue him. While searching the waves for her friend, she notices a dolphin trapped in a net on the bottom of the ocean. 
Unable to rescue the dolphin on her own, and worried about the rising tide and the precarious spot where  she left Rabsy and Raberta when she went to find the dolphin, Daisy decides to ask her parents for help. But, before she can she meets Pinchy and decides to ask him to help as well.  
A happy ending is not far off. Pinchy and his friends free the dolphin and takes Daisy, Rabsy, Raberta and, unbeknownst to all of them, Pinchy, for a ride around the bay. Once again, Voake crafts a magical, exciting story around this curious, brave little girl who is brought to life by Messerve's animated illustrations. This is the perfect series to start an emerging reader on!


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