Big Little Blue 3: DoubleDippers! product reviews

The children loved the first two books in the Big Little Blue series, so they could not wait to get into the latest book about the little penguins. The book is set up just like a big kids' book with chapters and recognisable divisions. That makes it much simpler for remembering where you are up to (without resorting to folding down the page flap to form a dog-ear). As with the previous two books, there is a common theme to the stories. This time it is the theme of thoughtfulness and helping others - and at the end of each chapter there is a Top Thoughtfulness Tip to reinforce the message of the story. Miss Five and Mr Four are at the age when they love to help people, so they were really able to relate to this attribute.

As with the other books, this graphic novel is designed for younger readers to approach at their own pace and improve their reading skills without actually realising they are doing so! Miss Five was able to read it quietly on her own, but she also took pride in reading aloud to her brother. Mr Four loved listening to her reading and it is already clear that he is recognising some of the words as he hears them while seeing them printed on the page.

Mr Four thought it was incredibly funny that Big and Little ended up with such huge piles of rocks and shells just from helping each other. Although there seemed to be little point in making the piles, Big and Little were clearly proud of their work and very grateful for the help they received. And after all, who has the right to denigrate someone else's art work?

Miss Five felt for Allie as she was sitting all by herself, waiting for her mate to return. She was sad that Allie was so lonely, but was delighted when Big and Little gave her a reassuring hug then said they would stay and keep her company. Both children understand fully the value of a hug when one of their friends or family are unhappy; at this age they know intuitively the best thing to do.

The graphics, like those of the first two books, are clear and easy for very small children to understand. The text does not overwhelm the pictures; rather, it progresses the story without overwhelming the young reader with too many words. Personally, I like the graphic novel format. The cartoon presentation means that the number of words in each frame is restricted; they need to be carefully selected for maximum effect, and they need to complement the graphic. Raymond McGrath has succeeded here as far as the children are concerned!

My children are addicted to reading, often I find them up at all hours of the night or morning with their noses stuck into a good read. Recently thanks to KIWIreviews my boys have been introduced to the Big Little Blue series, this focuses on two penguins and so far, has targeted the idea of mindfulness, and also the idea of friendship, when I saw that book 3 had been published, I was excited to find out what this book would focus on, and I knew the boys would be keen to read another one!

As with the other books in the series this book has a vibrant front cover which features the two blue penguins that are the main characters of the story. This book has been created in the format of a graphic novel and is easy enough for readers that have started reading by themselves, they may need help with a couple words, but predominantly they can read the rest. The illustrator has designed the penguins to look cute and playful, throughout the book there are numerous other creatures that have been created and look pretty realistic, also the same goes for the scenery, especially the rock pools and when the penguins are in the water.

The first story out of three in the book focuses on the issue of needing help or assistance in a situation, the big penguin comes to aid the little penguin, and they are successful, however things get out of hand when they continue to thank each other for their help by giving each other a gift, which soon pile up causing an issue.
The second story focuses on the issue of rewards, the two penguins went around helping others but were expecting to be rewarded in some way for doing so but were then left feeling disappointed when this did not happen. However, at the end of the story both penguins realize that helping a friend is part of being a friend, and that if you are doing something because it is the right thing to do you should not expect a reward in return.
The final story in the book focuses on being kind to others, one of their friends is feeling a bit sad and upset, so the penguins decided the kind thing to do would be to sit and keep them company and to then give them a hug, this was rewarding for all involved.

Yet again this series does not fail to impress, I love that this book can be read to or by a primary school aged child and they would easily be able to work out what the point that the author is trying to get across is. I like that there are 3 pages of Thoughtfulness Tips which pretty much summarize what was just read in that story, a good way for a teacher to go over and refresh the children once finished reading. This book will now join the other two that we have had the pleasure of reading and head to our local school library. Both my children and I eagerly await to see if there will be more titles added to the series in the future!