Synopsis: Two girls, April and Dianne, visit Jane Ray at her home in London and go with her to visit the local school and the house where shelived as a child. Jane is seen in the local school drawing a mythical beast and then working in her studio. She builds a mermaid on the windswept beach with April. In the second chapter of the DVD she reads Can you Catch a Mermaid? accompanied by her father’s piano playing and images from the book and the beach intermingled providing a multifaceted experience.

Review:This DVD is divided into two chapters. The first chapter shows Jane with two girls who provide an audience while she works in the local school; visits her father and talks about her childhood; works in her studio and then builds a mermaid on the beach. This first section is about 30 minutes long and provides teachers and children alike with inspirational ideas for art and literacy.

The second chapter consists of Jane reading Can you Catch a Mermaid? while illustrations from the book are mingled on the screen with images of Jane building a mermaid aided by April. Her father plays piano as an accompaniment to the reading. She describes his piano playing as ‘the soundtrack of my life’ opening the way for children to talk about music and the emotional impact of music.

The work of Jane Ray is distinctive and unique, so using this DVD as part of an author study should illuminate many features of not just her work but also the process of illustration and writing. She demonstrates how she collects and uses foils to provide the sparkle in her collage work and this is a process which could be copied at home or in school. Although perfect for Year Two ,this DVD would lend itself equally well to literacy and art studies at the lower end of Key Stage Two. Themes of the sea; myths and legends; friends and family; memories and homes are just a few ideas for project work enabling children to be creative and work across the curriculum in a meaningful way.

This is a wonderful resource for teachers, bringing the life and work of Jane Ray alive in new and exciting ways and one in a series of excellent films by childrensauthorstv.

A full set of notes is available for free download from the Childrensauthorstv website.