HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book: Twice My Size
Author: Adrian Mitchell
Illustrator: Daniel Pudles
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, republished in 1999
ISBN-13: 978-0747535553 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0747535558 (hardcover)
ISBN-13: 978-0747541882 (paperback)
ISBN-10: 0747541884 (paperback)
Language level: 1
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Rating: 4 stars (GOOD)
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
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Mitchell, Adrian. Twice My Size (published in 1998 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC). When our boys were learning to read, we checked many age-appropriate books out of the library that would not only give them practice but help them develop thinking skills. A ladybug sitting on a bright sunflower announces, “I’ve got a friend who’s twice my size–his bright wings flitter and flutter as he flies,” and some wings are visible. Youngsters might guess correctly that the friend is a butterfly, and a turn of the page will confirm it. Beginning with this tiny ladybug playing with a butterfly, a succession of animals is introduced, each of which frolics with a friend who is bigger. The butterfly has a “feathery friend twice as big as me” with the head of a bird showing, then the whole bird, smaller now, is juxtaposed with the big tail of its friend, a squirrel, and the guessing game continues, with each animal introducing a larger friend.
At the end, an enormous whale praises his friend up in the sky, the Sun, who is a million times bigger than all of them and outdoes even the whale as the largest friend. The book functions as a good introduction to relative size, and youngsters will enjoy the guessing game of what creature is going to appear next. Author Adrian Mitchell’s bouncy, rhyming text is catchy and fun, making this a lively read-aloud choice. The colorful illustrations are filled with striking bright hues and bold shapes. Illustrator Don Pudles uses a combination of woodcuts and oil-based paint to create bold, flat images in pastel hues. The easily-read wording is nicely integrated into the book design and sometimes curves around the art. Literal-minded children may notice that each friend is not exactly “twice the size” of the previous creature, but there’s much to like about this book.
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