The Adventures of Grandmasaurus at the Aquarium Rescue Centre

The gang readers might recall meeting in the Adventures of Grandmasaurus, in which they visited the natural history museum, is back.

It’s another term and another field trip for the organized and somewhat demanding Ms. Priya and her class. Once again, Grandma is along as chaperone, and the young narrator and her friend are aware that this can mean unusual things are likely to happen.

“Please Grandma,” Moonie whispered. “No funny business this time.”

“You wouldn’t with Ms. Priya here, would you?” I asked.

“Remember,” our teacher continued, “just like the experts here, we’re going to observe and learn about the animals. Please keep that in mind while you fill out your field trip reports. Observe and learn.”

Just then a blue sparkle of aquarium dust soared up Grandma’s nose.

Grandma is up to her old ways now. A sneeze followed by a splash, and readers see a Shonisaurus, a dolphin-like aquatic animal with a few traits that look astonishingly like Grandma’s, swimming in one of the big tanks.

It seems odd that, although we are at the Aquarium Rescue Centre, Grandma is still bent on revisiting forms of prehistoric life, albeit ones that inhabit water. (I was expecting something like a white whale, a sea cow and some otters that had been saved from fishing nets and boat propellers.) Each transformation clearly shows Grandma as a different creature, with that signature quiff of silver hair at the front of its head and something that looks like eyeglasses too. There’s a crocodilian Nothosaurus, a gigantic Elasmosaurus, and a Megalodon, an ancestor of the shark of today. When last spotted, Grandma – no, sorry, a colourful Ammonite - was waving her tentacles in a tall, cylindrical tank. Moonie and the granddaughter exhibit a mounting anxiety: for Grandma to stop sneezing and metamorphosing, and for them to have time to complete their reports.

When it comes time to write out the field trip reports, Moonie and friend are still waiting and hoping that Grandma will appear in a form the teacher will recognize. Thankfully, she does. Ms. Priya is gracious in her goodbyes and oblivious to the drama that has been occurring.

“I’m so glad you could join us on this field trip!” Ms. Priya said to Grandma.

“It is such fun to observe and learn!” Grandma said with a wink.

“I can’t wait till we do this again.”

In this, O’Toole’s third collaboration with Fernandez, the illustrative style is not very sophisticated, but the colourful pictures give readers a strong sense of the ambience of a large public aquarium. The children are nicely differentiated, and the group includes boys and girls of a variety of ethnicities and one wheelchair-bound student. There is lots of detail in the facial expressions and in the background activity.

The straightforward and entertaining text tells of an afternoon with a dedicated teacher, a group of diligent and well-behaved youngsters, one rogue Grandma and her two often anxious charges. Now it is time for Grandma to leave the dinosaur age behind and find a new outlet for her creative magic.