I’m not supposed to be blogging this week. It’s my Mum’s 90th birthday on Wednesday and my 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday so I said I’d take two weeks off to focus on family. And yet here I am. It’s my pleasure to share a review of children’s book Meet Mim by Sandra Severgnini and I would like to extend my enormous thanks to Kirsten Knight at EK Books for sending me a copy in return for an honest review.

Published by Exisle Publishing imprint EK Books on 8th August 2023, Meet Mim is available for purchase here.

Meet Mim

The world of the sandy seabed is brought to life in Meet Mim, the story of one of the natural world’s masters of disguise – the mimic octopus.

Sandra Severgnini sets up a delightful guessing game for the reader while showcasing the abilities of this little-known creature. The mimic octopus can change colour, shape and skin texture in all kinds of amazing ways. It deters predators by shapeshifting into creatures that are known to be poisonous, such as the spiked lionfish and the banded sea snake. It can even imitate jellyfish and sea stars.

This book is for everyone from inquisitive little people who love nature to adults who can still be fascinated. Budding marine biologists will delight in the wealth of accurate detail presented in the illustrations. Adult and child readers alike will be left with a new appreciation for the life in our precious yet threatened marine environments.

My Review of Meet Mim

Mim is in disguise.

What an utterly brilliant book. I absolutely adored meeting Mim.

Firstly, as with all the EK children’s books I’ve been privileged to read, Meet Mim is beautifully produced, with thick, glossy pages and a high quality, robust and durable cover that means it will be long lasting in both home and educational settings. More than that, it’s such a glorious book that I can envisage Meet Mim being much cherished and held onto long after the target age group of 4-8 year olds have grown up. 

Each double page spread has Mim, a mimic octopus, changing to blend with her environment, creating a sense of fun to the book, but also introducing young readers to all kinds of marine creatures that are fascinating. I could envisage all manner of classroom activities and research for older readers, perhaps leading to oral presentations, as well as a developing understanding of what is an unfamiliar natural environment under the sea. Younger readers might find themselves counting the little fish watching Mim adapt to her surroundings, and the language used is perfect for developing writing. There are super compound words like ‘side-winding’, with ellipsis to show confusion and doubt, alliteration and assonance all sprinkled through the writing. I love the fact that there is far more illustration than text so that reluctant readers are drawn in without realising they are learning so much about the craft of writing as well as the natural environment.

At the end of this wonderful book are ‘5 Fabulous Facts about the Mimic Octopus’ that could be the catalyst for so much more investigation of other creatures. 

All of those elements make Meet Mim a delight, but the real beauty, the absolute triumph of this book, comes through the illustrations that are, quite simply, wonderful. There’s a looseness in them that creates a wateriness just right for Mim’s ocean setting. There are small details, like a bottle on the seabed, that raise awareness of the threat to our seas too.

I loved Meet Mim. It may be aimed at readers about half a century younger than me, but I thought it was wonderful. 

About Sandra Severgnini