Big

The small boy in this almost wordless picture book wants to grow bigger.  His big brother is able to do all the things he would so love to do, like reaching the biscuit jar, or playing basketball, or riding a proper bike.  But the worst thing is that he has to go to bed early, and big brother often teases about this.  In bed, he thinks it isn’t fair, and when he goes to sleep, he dreams he is getting big, very big, and the bigger he gets the happier he is.  He’s much bigger than his brother, much bigger than a bus; he’s able to catch a rainbow and head for the moon.  But then, oh dear, earth suddenly looks far away, and he wants to go home: ‘I’m TOO big!’ he realises, but Dad is there to hold and comfort him when he wakes up crying, and he knows that he likes being small and will just have to be patient about growing up.  The illustrations, big and bold and taken from different angles, are highly expressive, and small children will recognise and share the desire to be big and also the fact that older siblings can be a pain!