Oliver Who Was Small But Mighty

Bergman and Maland have created a genuinely charming bath time fantasy where little Oliver steps into his bath and sails on to the high seas and a world of heroic nautical adventure. On he sails, meeting seahorses, mermaids, dolphins and whales, before encountering increasingly less friendly pirates and sea monsters. These are dispatched one by one as the diminutive boy stands tall and mighty. Eventually the sea grows calm and mum and dad whisk Oliver to bed. Maland cleverly employs subtly contrasting soft and hard media to separate the representation of the boy from his fantasy world. He exploits the landscape format of the book in full with dramatic, dynamic compositions and rhythms that sweep the reader from page to page across densely textured waves towards the final voyage to the land of sleep. Although the book’s concept is a tried and trusted one, it is executed with freshness and vigour.