How Big is Too Small? By Jane Godwin and Andrew Joyner – Book Review

By guest reviewer Liz Bray

Pretty much every kid with an older sibling has felt the pain of being excluded from the the big kids’ games because they’re ‘too small’.  

This totally charming exploration of the idea of ‘too small’ made me smile, and not just  because the nostalgic palette and thick lines of Andrew Joyner’s illustrations reminded me of Harry the Dirty Dog - a HUGE favourite of mine as a kid.

Sam is constantly left out of his big brother’s games. He thinks there is no one his size, no friend for him, anywhere in the neighbourhood (sharp-eyed readers might spot the removalists’ van in one of the illustrations early in the book—things are about to change!).

We follow Sam as he thinks his way through the concept of ‘too small’, ‘small’ and ‘big’ via ants, mice, fleas, the leaves on trees and the cells in those leaves, and even rain clouds which ‘stop’ when they get too big.

All this thinking is interrupted when big brother’s ball gets caught in the roof gutter and he and his friends ‘need someone small’ to climb up a vine and retrieve it. In the act of rescuing the ball, Sam discovers something wonderful (*spoiler alert*): a new friend who shares many of his passions.

If you’re buying a special picture book in hardcover, you want to know it will stand up to repeated readings, and this one definitely does.

It has a bouncy, almost-musical rhyming text, reminiscent of classic stories of wonder like ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. It’s a lot of fun to share and read aloud, and I wanted to go back and read it again as soon as I’d finished!

There are also dozens of extra details in the illustrations, so on each new reading you’ll notice more of Sam’s toys and treasures and learn about his street and backyard.

To me this book isn’t so much about size as about how we all need a friend, someone we ‘click with’. And it’s a great celebration of daydreamers and thinkers – kids like Sam – making their way in a world of boisterous shouting and play.

While it’s a picture book, it has quite a bit of text, and to really appreciate it you’d need to be familiar with some early science concepts. So it’s for kids 6+.

Who’ll love this: 6- and 7-year-old quirky kids, scientific kids and daydreamers. Especially if they have an older sibling.

Price : $24.99

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia