Life lines

Down in the Daisies. written by Lucy Coats and illustrated by Emily Bolam. (Orion, 9.99)

If you're looking for a book with several different themes that will make you want to come back to it again and again, this may be it. First there's the theme of mother animals and babies, but instead of featuring the usual animal noises, each mother calls out a command to its little one. So the seal urges her pup to dive, and together they 'crash' and 'plash' and 'splash'. The fox encourages her cubs to bark, and they 'snap' and 'snip' and 'snarl'. Another theme is settings, which range from the top of a tall tree for the speckled thrush to a golden field of wheat for a family of rabbits. Then there's the climate theme - the rabbits are enjoying the hot, hazy weather while the chicks in the nest experience 'whooshy windy weather'. There's lots of colourful, descriptive language in the rhyming verses, and appealing pictures. The final image is of all the animals settling down for the night, and a human baby snuggled in its mother's arms.