Kids’ Book Review: Review: A bigger Book
Most people would know Hannah Sommerville from her beautiful
illustration work, A Bigger Book however marks Hannah’s first solo outing as
both author and illustrator and what a great topic she has chosen to debut
with.
Drawing from her own childhood experiences, A Bigger Book
tells the story of Cora. Like most children Cora loves books. She loves holding
them and smelling them. She loves visiting the bookshop, and library day is her
favourite day of the week. But when it comes time for Cora to read out loud in
class things begin to change.
She can’t make out the words like the others and soon starts
to fall behind as her classmates move on to ‘bigger’ more challenging books. As
is often the case with children, when things don’t go to plan they simply stop
trying. Cora is no exception and she soon turns her back on reading altogether. That is
until she finds a special book that is perfect for her needs.
The number one take away I have from A Bigger Book is
the importance of visual storytelling. Before learning to read children have the
ability to understand and create stories through pictures alone. This magic
cannot and should not be understated. Hannah herself has created a stunning
visual narrative that could easily be understood by someone struggling with their
words.
Yet A Bigger Book is more than just that. It is a
story that shows people learning at their own pace. It shows how there is no ‘right
way’ to do things and that the journey to the finish line (if there is one) is
different for everyone. This is something we all need to be reminded of.
There is one thing I must bring up that confused me a little
though. On the back cover, and in the books blurb was a line mentioning
dyslexia. This actually piqued my interest before reading but I was surprised
to find it is barely touched upon with the exception of one page which states …’The
harder she (Cora) concentrates, the foggier each word becomes.’ I
would have liked to have seen this topic examined further. I feel this was a missed opportunity that
could have taken a story about learning struggles to a whole new level.
Title: A Bigger Book
Author/illustrator: Hannah Sommerville
Publisher: Hardie Grant
Publication Date: 28 July 2026
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761216770
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture book
