Children's Book Review: I Love My Maracas! By Margit Van Der Zwan

It comes as no surprise to learn that Margit van der Zwan is an accomplished cellist and music teacher, who has graced the stages of both the Albert Hall and Glastonbury, and has collaborated with a host of luminaries of all musical genres, including Jools Holland, Emilie Sandé and Elbow. For in her latest book for small children - I Love My Maracas! - an inherent sense of musicality informs her words, as effortlessly as her brilliant illustrations will animate the youthful imagination. And if we were to doubt the inter-connectedness of the various forms of art, we need look no further than the number of poets whose subsequent prose style is ‘infected’ by the lyrical nature of their poems. The two are often indivisible, just as the artwork, the natural rhythm of the text, and the hidden music combine to invigorate Van der Zwan’s colourful book.

With illustrations that literally uplift the prose – the little girl at the centre of the story remains figuratively airborne for much of it – Van der Zwan sets an energetic and upbeat tone that will sustain the wandering attention of the pre-school mind throughout. Featuring a ‘journeying’ narrative through night and day, town and country, earth and sky, the author’s words fizz with rhythmical animus, revelling in sound and rhyme and holding the imagination in brief thrall.

The inclusion of ‘activity’ pages at the story’s end makes a perceptive and useful addendum to a book whose words and images skilfully manipulate mood to appeal to every child.


I Love My Maracas! is published by Independent Publishing Network (2024)

More information here.