Synopsis: Everyone is afraid of Big Bro – the mouse, frog, parrot, chimpanzee and the elephant. He’s rough, he’s tough and he’s big but just how big?

Review: A superbly crafted picture book is what we’ve come to expect from one of the country’s leading author/illustrators and in Watch Out! Big Bro’s Coming! Jez Alborough lives up to expectations. Infant children will adore this book as we sympathise with the anxious animals as they await, as a result of fevered gossip, the arrival of Big Bro. But who is Big Bro? No one seems to know, but even the mighty elephant is frightened by the prospect. Yet all is revealed at the end proving not only that hysteria is infectious but that ‘big’ is a relative concept too – in more ways than one!

Alborough has a unique ability to tap into an inquisitive young mind in a multidimensional way. The illustrations are vibrant and vivid, the text is simple yet effective and in his latest creation Alborough’s observational skills and empathy with the thoughts, feelings, emotions and reactions of little people are superbly, yet subtly identified.

2006-10-07