Book Review: “Blown Away”, by Rob Biddulph

Dolly and her penguin friend watch as Penguin Blue gets blown away!

An unusually strong gust of wind blows Penguin Blue’s kite up, up and away, taking him along for the ride, soaring into the sky, on this fun and unexpected trip! Blue’s penguin, seal and bear friends try to save him but end up tagging along as well for a journey into the unknown! We watch and giggle as they careen through the air, all dangling dangerously from the kite! Out of the perfectly chilly Antarctic and into a toasty, tropical jungle island they go. Will they be trapped in that steamy climate forever? Can they come up with a plan to be blown away again, this time back home? Will a silly jungle animal find a way to stowaway on board with them?

Blown Away, Rob Biddulph’s debut picture book, is a dream to read and candy for the eyes. The haiku-like text is cleverly rhyming. The whimsical illustrations are seemingly on the texture of a canvas, giving it a pixel-y look, which translates to a warm, vintage feel. The collage-look of the illustrations enables Biddulph to tell many great visual jokes (i.e. the line for the icecream truck in the hot jungle) that an older reader will enjoy! The array of blues and greens in Biddulph’s illustrations, mixed with the great flow of the text put you in the perfect trance to make you fall in love with this book!

Join Penguin Blue and his fearless friends on their journey! You need this book for your bookshelf!

Title: Blown Away
Author: Rob Biddulph
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: January 20, 2015
Pages: 40