Gavin Bishop follows the popularity of his book Bruiser, with this new title – Bruiser & The Big Snow. Bruiser is a large, heroic digger ready to save the day when a heavy snowfall affects traffic, including a little trike that desperately needs to be rescued.
I’m liking
Bruiser saves the day in this little tale for vehicle-obsessed small people. It is well-suited to 2-4 year olds with a passion for diggers, tricycles, cars, loud noises and bold pictures. Full of onomatopoeia and written in relatively simple, straightforward language no doubt this book will appeal to those who loved the original Bruiser.
Things that made me go hmmmm
For me, the story could flow better. The incidence at the end, involving the tricycle, seems just a tad tacked on the end of the rest of the book – though it does mean the story ends on a nice note, which is quite satisfying.
I have to say Bruiser is a little bit rough and rude for my liking. He sleeps in during the snowfall and then shouts at everyone ‘Oi, get out of my way, I’ve got roads to clear!’ Bruiser also pulls the tab on a can of oil and downs it at the end of a hard day’s work.
The images are very confronting and Bruiser looks pretty angry. Have a flick through and see what you make of it!
The conclusion
This book will be a favourite for some. I am quite confident that some young children will absolutely adore it, but it just isn’t a favourite in our house. Gavin Bishop is a wonderful kiwi author/illustrator, and in my opinion this is not his finest work.
Bruiser & The Big Snow retails for $21.00 and is published by Random House.
