Gigantic

Living in the Atlantic is a blue whale named Gigantic. But Gigantic is the smallest whale in his pod. Teased by his brother, Titan, Gigantic makes friends with a turtle named Myrtle and together, the two have great fun leaping and diving and playing. When Titan sees them, he declares that whatever Gigantic can do, he (Titan) can do better…which leads to him being grounded. Luckily, Gigantic, Myrtle and all the small sea life creatures are on hand to help and Titan learns a valuable lesson.

A new Rob Biddulph book is always a thing of joy and ‘Gigantic’ is no exception! Like his other books, it is sure to become a firm favourite at home, and at school with one reading never being enough! The text is a pleasure to read aloud and the vocabulary used is rich and varied, offering plenty of new words to discuss and enjoy. Titan’s taunting of his little brother is something many siblings will recognise and the story will be relevant to many, perhaps leading to conversations about empathy and understanding- and not just between siblings! I love the friendship between Gigantic and Myrtle, two very different creatures forming such a lovely bond and sticking together!

As with all of Rob’s books, the illustrations are just wonderful. There are five things to find hidden in the pages as well as plenty of details to notice and enjoy. Both illustrations and story are sure to lead to learning about sea creatures and the oceans as so many creatures are depicted under the water. As well as being a joy for a read aloud, the book lends itself brilliantly to being a key text for a class to work with, sure to lead to lots of wonderful work and plenty of pleasure!

Gigantic Rob Biddulph

Harper Collins ISBN: 978-0008413439

Published 14th September

You can read my review of ‘Odd Dog Out’ here, ‘An Odd Dog Christmas’ here and ‘The Blue Footed Booby’ here.