Undiscovered Scotland

 

"The Seal Who Loved to Sing" by Zoë Stevenson and Lyndsey Bland tells the story of an adorable seal called Rona and her quest to become a singer.

This charming book has bright and engaging illustrations and follows Rona on her mission to find someone to teach her to sing. She approaches a sea eagle, a whale, some storm petrels, dolphins and an oyster catcher, but every one of them tells her that her singing is awful.

For Rona, singing is how she expresses herself, when she is joyful or sad, so despite what all the other creatures tell her she keeps looking for a teacher. Finally, she finds the "seal choir" who all sing together. Unlike the other creatures who dismissed her and treated her unkindly, the seals appreciate her voice and when she sings with them their songs harmonise beautifully together. At last, Rona feels she has finally found her place, amongst her own kind, and she stops worrying that she is upsetting the other animals with her singing.

Rona’s story is beautifully illustrated and includes a section in the back which has information about the animals found in the Western Isles of Scotland and the sounds they make. Our young reader loved to try and mimic the animals, and it really added to the story for him. It proved to be entertaining, educational and fun.