
Over or Under? from acclaimed author Pip Harry and award-winning illustrator Hilary Jean Tapper is a book I am excited to explore at the beginning of the school year in library classes. It’s themes relating to courage, resilience and not giving up when learning a new skill, believing in yourself and beach safety serve as excellent gateways to explore a growth mindset, learn about students and connect with a memorable story and character. This is a story that explores the challenges, disappointment at times and despair that can come with attempting something unfamiliar, but, with a positive mindset and a willingness to continue to practise, fears can be conquered, skills can be learned and rewards abound.
Many children will see themselves reflected in this story (either in the exact same scenario, or when learning a new skill, or navigating a challenging, new experience for the first time and how it is often not smooth sailing, accompanied by a rollercoaster of emotions).
This story follows Maisie who is on holiday at the beach with her family. She is excited to swim in the ocean with her Dad who has been teaching her about navigating the waves. Maisie is cautious to begin with and gains confidence with her Dad by her side. She gradually builds courage to venture further out into the ocean. Her Dad has explained to her that some waves are for floating over and others Maisie will need to dive under. As a large wave looms in front of Maisie she hesitates and in this moment of indecision she is dumped by the wave. Her confidence is knocked and she refuses to ever be dumped by large waves again. So she is sidelined by the ocean, feeling miserable and defeated.
The last day of the holiday sees her family back at the beach. Will Maisie feel brave enough to persevere and try again?
Pip Harry’s creative use of similes and personification to describe the ocean creates strong vivid imagery of waves and allows readers to emotionally relate to the ocean, empowering them to connect to Maisie.
The vibrant, whimsical, watercolour illustrations add another layer to the story. They are full of movement, emotion and life. Readers will gain information about Maisie’s emotions from her body language depicted. The illustrations of the ocean deftly depict the waves in all their glorious forms and capture exactly how Maisie interacts with them.
The back matter includes a page about staying safe at the beach.
This story that will transport readers to the beach highlights that learning a new skill is not a straightforward path, it takes time, requires patience, there are setbacks and resilience is required. Seizing opportunities and persevering can lead to wonderful rewards and in Maisie’s case, I suspect an unwavering connection with the ocean.