Emily Dreeling’s RIVER AND THE AMAZING YELLOW WELLIE ADVENTURE is a charming little story, suitable for very young readers, told from the perspectives of four pairs of talking wellies. They want to know both how to survive in the big, scary, rainy world outside, and how to take care of their little girl, River, who depends on them to keep her feet dry while she’s splashing through puddles and creeks. The language here is simple, clear, and friendly, easily understood by young readers, at least as soon as the young American readers have had “wellies” translated for them as “rain boots”. Of course, the illustrations make that quite clear, and give each of the welly pairs their own lively facial expressions to boot. The pictures, created by illustrator are bright, vivid and complex, with interesting details on every page for kids to find and explore. River is cleverly drawn with large, expressive eyes and flying hair, a young girl constantly in motion, full of energy and curiosity. Her four pairs of wellies have a surprising amount of personality, for boots with facial features – there’s a bunny pair (Bertie), a bear pair (Teddy), a stripy pair (Miley) and River’s apparent favorites, the ladybug-adorned Lexie.
Author Dreeling keeps the message is positive, warmhearted, and supportive. The tone encourages an adventurous, exploratory spirit, with emphasis on relying on and caring for one’s friends but trusting in one’s own strength and courage as well. The elegant italic writing might be a bit difficult for young eyes just learning their letters. On most pages there’s a clear color contrast between the writing and the background that helps make up for that, but one page, with pale blue background and yellow writing, might be harder for little eyes. Still, it’s the sort of lively, cheerful story that parents will enjoy reading aloud to their kids (particularly if they can do different voices for each of the different wellies and River). And it’s a story that will appeal particularly to early readers who love running around outside and splashing in puddles, particularly if they have their own favorite set of rain boots to love.
Emily Dreeling’s RIVER AND THE AMAZING YELLOW WELLIE ADVENTURE is a cheerful, brightly-colored adventure that gives personality and charm to kids’ rain gear.
~Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader