Anyone with a preschooler will probably be familiar with Blown Away, the gorgeous story of Blue Penguin. So we were pretty excited to see that Blue Penguin is BACK – and this time he’s off on an adventure on the high seas in Sunk! from Rob Biddulph.
And once again, it’s an absolute joy. The story is perfect for bedtime sharing, a comfortingly exciting tale for toddlers which builds through the adventure before winding gently back down down to a perfect smile-producing conclusion. The language invites your child to learn it by heart, and in no time at all we had spontaneous exclamations of “Avast, me hearties!” echoing around the house. Plus, of course, there’s no escaping the fact that everyone will join in with ‘Thar She Blows!’ at the top of their voices.
Honestly, I just love Sunk! The beauty of lines like ‘through swollen waves and dancing foam’ make this feel more like a child’s poetry book than a simple story. The second time through read it slower, and take a second to really appreciate the way Rob Biddulph manages to convey such a story in so few words.
And the illustrations are in the same deceptively simply style too – familiar now from Blown Away, but take a closer look and you’ll find more and more detail hidden away under the waves. Cutlass Jeff and First Mate Flo are excellent pirate friends, but just keep an eye on Clive – I love his fishy shopping bag, and his ready-for-any-eventuality snorkel.
So – we strongly recommend you hit the treasure trail with Penguin Blue this Spring. Really; you have a pirate hat, a map, a sunken wreck, Captain Plank, a dire emergency – and naturally the most glorious of escapes. What more do you need before bed?
Sunk! is available in all good bookshops, of course – and you can find it on Amazon by clicking the little box below:
