My Dog Bigsy by Alison Lester

There aren't many Alison Lester books that don't eventually charm me.

In the case of My Dog Bigsy I was in love from the front cover!

Such a joyful, happy pup bounding across the page. Bigsy looks ready for cuddles and snuggles and tummy rubs.

My Dog Bigsy has been shortlisted for this years CBCA Early Childhood book of the year. The judging criteria states that:

Entries in this category may be fiction, drama or poetry and should be appropriate in style and content for children who are at pre-reading or early stages of reading.  

The front and end papers create a little map of the farm where Bigsy lives. The map shows us all the different animals who live on the farm with him.

The introduction page has arrows pointing out all of Bigsy's best features such as his 'wet, black nose' and his 'special scratching spot'.

Lester uses simple descriptive language and lots of fun onomatopoeia as Bigsy races around the farm waking everyone up.

Her illustrations are clean, simple shapes pasted onto fabric backgrounds.

Bigsy is lovable and fun and I think he's a winner already.

My CBCA shortlist post is here.