Rob Biddulph's debut book Blown Away won the 2015 Waterstone's Children's Book Prize.
This latest work Odd Dog Out maintains the same award-winning combination of captivating illustrations with an engaging narrative told in rhyming couplets.
This book, as the title suggests, is all about being perceived to fit in or more precisely feeling that you are different and therefore seeming to be the odd one out:
"Someone on this busy street
Is dancing to a different beat."
The story unfolds of a small dog who is different and goes on a journey trying to find a place where she isn't perceived as different. However when she does, she realises all is not what it seems...
Harriet loved Odd Dog Out and has read it time and again. It provides a good starting point for talking about being different, friendship and life in general.
The illustrations are fabulous and this is matched by the language of the storyline (sadly not always the case in picture books. What I found particularly appealing is that all the descriptions are positive and the conclusion is what we should all say to our children: "Be who you are." Being different is something to embrace and celebrate.
PWT rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Published by Harper Collins Children's Books Odd Dog Out