Indigo Blue, Peregrine Puffin, Xlibris, 21 June 2017, 60pp., $31.99 (pbk), ISBN 9781543430769
This is a tale about a lonely puffin who saves the ‘school’ bully at sea and makes readers aware of an environmental issue.
Being self-published, this story does not follow the structures of most picture books and would benefit from editing. I was a little confused by the narrative style, with natural history study mixed with anthropomorphism but there are attractions to the story and with its text length and sophisticated imagery, it may appeal to older readers with an interest in ornithology.
Each page carries a well-executed watercolour study of a bird that sometimes blends into photographic under-layers and has some pleasing watery backgrounds. The illustrations do not carry the storyline and are embellishments rather than scenes with a clear visual narrative, thus making this a book for more confident readers.
Reviewed by Liz Anelli
