Little Critter: Going to the Sea Park

Little Critter

by Mercer Mayer

Little Critter: Going to the Sea Park is a special paper-over-board commemorative edition celebrating the 60th anniversary of I Can Read books for beginning readers. Eight bonus pages recount I Can Read’s history, including a time line, never-before-seen sketches, and origin stories of beloved I Can Read characters. This beautiful edition is perfect for gift giving. 

Join Mercer Mayer’s classic and beloved character, Little Critter®, and his classmates for some underwater fun, as they set out on a delightful trip to the sea park! With Little Critter and a charming world of sea creatures big and small, there’s never a dull moment.

Little Critter: Going to the Sea Park is a My First I Can Read book, which means it’s perfect for shared reading with a child.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, School, Animals, 1st Grade

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2009

About the author

Mercer Mayer is an American children's author and illustrator. He has published over 300 books, using a wide range of illustrative styles. Mayer is best known for his Little Critter and Little Monster series of books.

Reviews

[Jessie Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolfie thinks this book is “great”. :-)

[Mary Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my "cover" review for all the Little Critter books:
I'm a fan of Mercer Mayer for a couple of reasons. I think it is important that not all kids' books have to be heavy and deep into meaning and lessons. Some can just be everyday happenings. Yet every book leaves you feeling that something was learned. I can relate to what Little Critter experiences as a kid. I faced many of these experiences in a similar way. I was blessed.
Another reason I love these books is that they always leave me feeling happy.
A third reason that makes them SO fun is the illustrations. Fantastic! So well done. And finding the mouse and spider in every picture just adds to the fun. Some of the Little Critter books have a frog on every page.
And that makes these children's books so fulfilling, for kids and adults.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Little Critter. This was from my childhood. I always loved finding either the grasshopper, spider, frog, or mouse in each page.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know the kids will like this. Pre-readers will study the pictures and new readers will be able to read most of the words, especially with the visual clues. My only concern: No trip to a real sea park can match the visual delights and hands-on experiences that this book may lead them to expect.

2023
3.8
Good: the variety of animals
Hmm: "Everyone brings money from home to buy a gift." Were these pages really necessary? Preferred: Use the two pages to introduce other sea animals -- jelly fish? seahorses? eels?

[J9 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Mercer Mayer book that all my kids enjoyed. My 5 yr old just adores Mayer and requests her books constantly. I read them at the breakfast or lunch table and even my 3 yr old twins get into them. We love trying to find the mouse and spider that seems to follow the main character around, they’re always doing silly things. Fun engaging themes that any child can relate to, a great addition to any children's library.

[Z'Nia Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so cute! I loved it! The kids went on a trip to the sea park and they did so many different things. They got to see some pretty and ugly fishes, go to the petting tank, see sharks and lots of cool other stuff. If I was trying to get my students or kids excited about the aquarium or the sea park, I would read this book. The book is a really cool and detailed book. I love the illustrations on the page. Each page is full of color and some images even stick out to you. My favorite part is how at the end, the narrator tells his highlight of the day.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a perfectly lovely book to me 10 years ago. Now that many Sea Parks have come under attack for their treatment of animals, I tend to shy away from this. Not PC any more. But the beginning readers still like it, even where the whales eat fish, I do appreciate that it contains some compound words that my early readers are ready for.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, this was fun and I couldn't imagine anything more delightful than adding a trip to an aquarium afterwards. Your child will beg you anyways (*wink*), so be sure to plan ahead!

Reading Level: 1st - 3rd grades

[FirnMamaMakes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope. I don't care that it's a kid's book talking about fish, I don't like the language in this book. -Some are pretty, some are ugly, some are weird.- We can do better than this at teaching our children as they identify differences no matter what species they're learning about.

[kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book for beginner readers

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

My childhood!!

[Alicia Steagall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it. It’s a adorable, cute read to a child.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute book especially for my 5 yr old who loves sharks. Did great reading the book out loud with help.

[Haaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Early Reader. As always the illustrations add a lot to the story.

[Steven Berryman · Rating 4 out of 5]

There some new words that I got to learn like orca

[Pamela Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute beginning-reader book about Little Critter going to the Sea Park.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review from a toddler: “greatest book ever”

[Cailin Leithead · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my favorite Mercer Meyer. It’s kind of eh. The girls like it!

[Eden Rose Kennett]

I read this book all by myself.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one that is part of the Little Critter Collection: Contains Little Critter: Going to the Firehouse, Little Critter: Going to the Sea Park, and Little Critter: Snowball Soup set.

Little Critter: Going to the Sea Park is fun and full of learning opportunity. This would be a great addition to studying an ocean theme or planning a trip to an aquarium. The interaction between the students is great as Little Critter explains everything that is going on. Perfect amount of sentences and an interesting topic to truly involve your early reader.

*Thanks to HarperCollins for providing a copy for review.*

Rascal received a copy of Going to the Sea Park in an I Can Read! subscription box.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis: "Little Critter is going on a class trip!

There isn't a dull moment when Little Critter® and his classmates go on a trip to the Sea Park! They see and learn about exciting and strange sea creatures—from crabs and octopuses to whales and sharks. A day at the Sea Park proves to be full of fun and adventure.

Going to the Sea Park is a story with simple, easy-to-read text—ideal for emergent readers who want to join Little Critter on a day of under-the-sea delight."

My Review: This is another great addition to our growing Little Critter set of books. This is a good beginning reader book. It is definitely higher than a first level though and some of it might be difficult to read and identify if a child hasn't been to a seaworld or aquarium before. The sentences are still fairly simple and the pictures also go along so if there is a word the reader struggles with they may be able to use the picture for clues.

[Sharon]

This was another book in our november reading log. I am always amazed at what sight words my son actually knows. He read most of this book all by himself. His favorite part of the book was the sharks. My daughter liked the "sting rays" (horseshoe crabs).

[Rebekka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Easy Reader was fun to read with my kids. The graphics were very whimsical, and the text was informative about the different sea animals featured in the book, while not reading like a textbook. Would recommend to ages 4 & up.

[Alyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about Little Critter's school field trip the the Sea Park. It shows a few animals that you usually see at a sea park or aquarium such as Orca's and sharks. It was short and easy to read. My son liked it and he even asked a few questions about the animals they saw.

[Felicity The Magnificent · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was about going to the Sea Park. I didn't like this book because Timothy fell in the water.

[Yadira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little critter and his classmates go to the sea park and learn about many different ocean animals. This book would be good for a lesson on ocean animals.

[Pinky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Little Critter has a blast seeing the animals at the sea park.

[Jenny Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little picture book for ages 0-3 to listen to with the wonderful wording and the awesome illustrations.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandsons, ages 3 & 5 loved this book. They love sea creatures. The also liked looking for the little frog. It is a bedtime favorite read.