Book Review: You Are (Not) Small

You Are (Not) Small – Anna Kang
(Published by Hachette New Zealand – 28 April 2015)  

 

Two fuzzy creatures can’t agree on who is small and who is big, until a couple of surprise guests show up, settling it once and for all!

I have just one word for this book: brilliant.

Okay, two words actually: brilliant and hilarious.

The laughs from my boys said it all from the first read-through, and they haven’t subsided after the twentieth read. You Are (Not) Small is such a treat to read, and as yet, it hasn’t even made it onto the boys’ bookshelves because they want to listen to it all the time. They love how the creatures are yelling at each other on one page, and are going to find something to eat together a few pages later.

The story and its message is simple: differences are all relative. For small children, this can be a pretty tricky concept to get, but You Are (Not) Small might just help them to understand.

The illustrations, by Kang’s husband Christopher Weyant, are gorgeous. They are simple and bold, but convey so much of the story. It wasn’t until the second or third read that we noticed two of the creatures were wearing glasses, just like Tiny.

I can’t recommend You Are (Not) Small enough – just go and buy it, okay??

Review copy kindly provided by Hachette New Zealand

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