The Shooing Cave Book Review

The Shooing Cave 
Written by Ingrid Lee
Illustrated by Johnny Hollick
Published by Tumblehome Books, 2019

Son's Review
(Age: 5)
My summary is that it's about a dark, dark, cave and a creature called a Stark. It's a good book. It's cute. It's got a lot of the same word: Shoo, shoo, shoo, shooooo. It's kind of like an easy reader, but not.

T's favorite part:
When the Stark gets his baby.

What T learned:
That there are things that are shaped like straws that you are not allowed to drink out of.

Mom's Review
Caves are fascinating natural features, full of mystery and beauty, with a dash of spookiness. The Shooing Cave introduces a young audience to the myriad wonders within caves, through a captivating and fun story. T likes to point out that this is a frame narrative, a bedtime story told to a child. Within the bedtime story, a young cave explorer meets a funny, curious "Stark" monster. The boy explores the cave, encountering curtains, columns, cave pearls, and more. When he sees the Stark, however, he tells it, "Shoo." By the end, the two become friends. The original child enjoys this happy ending to his bedtime story.

Back matter includes photographs of each cave feature mentioned, alongside explanations of how each is formed. It is the back matter which contextualizes the story and brings caving to life. We have had fun looking at the photographs (I sum up the geological explanations for T), then flipping back through the book to find the page where the young explorer encountered that specific formation. The formations included are all present in karst caves.

The Shooing Cave is a fun geological adventure and an excellent melding of science and fantasy.

Note: A review copy was provided upon request, in exchange for an honest review.

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