Anemone is Not the Enemy; Anna McGregor

Social distancing is something anemone is used to and there’s a good reason for it but everyone deserves to have a friend and anemone just needs to find the right one.

Anemone lives all alone in the rock pool with only the boring barnacles for company. High tide brings visitors but no one ever comes too close because anemone has a nasty streak…STING! It is hard to make friends when all you do is hurt anyone that comes too close. Poor anemone thinks it will never make friends and then a sprightly clownfish appears. Perhaps it can help…

On the surface, this is a simple story of mishaps, misunderstandings and a search for a friend. But dive a little deeper and it is a fascinating look at life in a rock pool, the impact of tides - high, low and king, an anemone’s defence mechanism and the special symbiotic relationship it can form when the right friend comes along.

From its eye-catching front cover and neon pink endpapers to the playful illustrations and minimal text, Anemone is Not the Enemy dazzles in every sense. Anna McGregor serves up entertainment and education in equal measure and readers will love spending time in anemone’s rock pool - just don’t get too close.

A quirky and funny sub-plot follows a hermit crab looking for a new home and additional back matter explaining the special relationship between the anemone and the clownfish, the hermit crab’s constant need to search for a new shell to call home and a brief explanation of tides is fantastic.

As the clownfish would say, ‘Keep your friends close but your anemones closer’.

Recommended for 5+.