Sunday, November 12, 2023

Big Bug by Henry Cole

 


When I visit a library or bookshop there are a number of things I am always interested in - very easy beginner chapter books with enjoyable well written stories, scrumptious picture books with amazing art and again, great stories, and board books like this one. I marvel that this book has only 48 words and yet it is so satisfying right down the very last words - little nap!

The copy of Big Bug that I borrowed from a school library was published in 2014 as a hardcover picture book so I had little hope that it would still be in print. I am so pleased to see that the Board Book version of this book is available [9781534416901].  I think it is a measure of the importance of this book that it has been published in nearly every format - hardcover, paperback, board book, and even as an ebook. 

Blurb: Beginning with a beautiful close-up of a “big” ladybug, this adorable board book artfully depicts the concept of scale as it zooms out from the bug, to a flower, to a cow, all the way to an expansive spread of sky. Then author Henry Cole masterfully zooms back in from that sky, to a tree, to a house, to a window, all the way to the end where an adorable dog is taking a “little” nap. Young readers will love the lush illustrations of the animals, objects, and scenery of a farm, and they’ll delight in seeing how something “big” can suddenly seem “little” with every turn of a page!


This is a very simple book that is superbly done.  Cole plays nicely with perspective and with concepts.  The book can easily be used as a way to show the differences between big and small, but I think the real treat is showing children that perspective is important and understanding size is too.  Waking Brain Cells

Visually lovely and appealing. Kirkus

You could follow this book with Shrinking Mouse and for older children try to find Zoom.



Here is another book from this blog by Henry Cole.


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