Boobela, Worm and the potion power by Joe Friedman
Illus. by Sam
Childs. Orion Children's Books, 2008. ISBN 978184255 5415
(Age 7+) This large sized paperback, full of colour and energetic
illustrations, tells the tale of Boobela, a child giant, adrift from
her parents, and her friend Worm, who sits on her shoulders and offers
advice. There are four stories in this volume, the third in the series,
aimed at linking reading between picture books and novels.
The first story, The argument, sees a rift between Boobela and
Worm, as
she struts off down the street without her friend on her shoulder. She
needs to explain to the other children she meets that she and Worm have
had a fight, and she realises how silly she has been. When
tragedy occurs and Boobela needs help, Worm appears and all is right.
The four stories are easy to read, have large print and tell a small
intimate story in the lives of the two protagonists.
While a battle rages about putting a recommended age on
every book published, it is fascinating to see how this will affect
book publishing. This book has a recommended
age of 4+ on its publicity sheet. But it is far more than a picture
book, and more involved. This book has 108 pages with
about 100 words on each page, which in my way of thinking makes it a
book aimed at 7+.
Fran Knight