Penguin

February 2019

ISBN: 9780143789697

Imprint: Puffin

RRP: $19.99

I always find something entirely magical about Renee’s books. Both her text and her illustrations are equally charming and so beautifully suited to little readers.

As a child I knew what it was to be afraid of the dark. I did eventually grow out of it (well except for when my daughter tricked me into watching The Sixth Sense because of my Bruce Willis passion) but for many small people those mysterious sounds and shadows of the night can pose a real anxiety.

Little Platypup is one of those youngsters. The weird sounds of the bush outside the burrow are so worrisome and it’s easy to let the imagination run away. But Mother Platypus is both wise and patient and knows exactly how to reassure a little puggle.  Those sounds outside at night are merely the same ones heard through the daytime – it’s just that at night when all is quieter they seem so much more mysterious and queer.

For little humans who are still nervous of night time this is a perfect book to share – and talk about of course. We can’t always address our children’s worries through books but sometimes they are the perfect solution or entrée into assuaging the troubles they face.

Highly recommended for little people from toddlers upwards.