You Are (Not) Small

You Are (Not) Small by Anna Kang Illust. Christopher Weyant (Hodder Childrens/Hachette)
HB RRP $24.99
ISBN: 978 1 444 91830 4
Reviewed by Hilary Smillie

I loved this picture book! The most words on a page are 12; some have none; and often just one or two, and yet it gets its message across beautifully.

Two furry creatures are comparing their size. The big one thinks the little one is small and the little one thinks the big one is big. Things get very heated. But then someone even smaller and someone even bigger arrives -- and that settles the issue of size.

Anna Kang and Christopher Weyant are a husband and wife team. Together they have produced this very amusing and succinct picture book which is a delight to read. Anna's sparse text is complemented by Christopher's bold and lively illustrations and his experience as a cartoonist has been put to excellent use. He has used a restricted palette to great effect and the plain yellow inside and end sheets continue the theme. The font size is large and easy to read, and the bright red cover with its super-large title and black-nosed orange head of the fuzzy larger creature demands a second glance.

Children will thoroughly enjoy You Are (Not) Small and before long, will be able to read the short sentences by themselves.