MerTales 3 – The Great Treasure Hunt

Rebecca Timmis's Great Treasure Hunt is an underwater mystery for 6 year olds about a mermaid who's completely sure she's the best team leader in Cockleshell Cove.

What happens

The town's first ever treasure hunt is about to start. Coral Clearwater turns up with matching crimson T-shirts for her best friends Pearl, Shell and Sandy. They say Coral's Crew on the back (she picked the name herself, because she's captain).

The four of them have magic powers and a secret club called FINS. Coral can make currents, Sandy makes forcefields, Pearl talks to animals and Shell can teleport. But they agree not to use any of it today, because that wouldn't be fair on everyone else.

So they do it the hard way. There's a riddle that leads to the Mer-seum and a statue of an ancient mermaid queen. There are picture clues to puzzle out and a very hurried swim down Lionfish Lane. It's lovely for a child who likes to have a go at the clues before the characters crack them.

The bit that really lands, though, is Coral. She's brilliant and speedy and she won't let anyone else read the map, even though Sandy is MUCH better at it. Pearl tells her gently that being a leader is about more than bossing people around. Coral storms off on her own, gets lost and suddenly worries her friends won't want her anymore.

Who hasn't been a bit of a bossy-fins at some point? Coral works it out in a way that feels very real for this age, without anyone making a big speech about it.

Then there's Count Frumplesquid. He's the snooty merman in the top hat who donated all the treasure, and he snapped at Coral when she bumped into him that morning. Something about him doesn't add up, and the treasure hunt turns out to be the least of the friends' worries.

Expect puns on every page. Fin-tastic, mer-mazing, sea-sational and plenty more (some children will groan, most will giggle). The friends mention earlier adventures together, a reef dragon and a lost turtle among them, but this story works fine on its own.

What to read next

If your reader enjoyed working the clues out alongside Coral, Cape Mermaid Mystery is another good one. Nancy Drew and her best friends are staying at a seaside inn when someone writes HELP ME in the dust of the attic, and the girls decide to find out who.