Raymond Huber reviews children's picture books.
It's the true story of a small dog lost overboard in treacherous waters in the Marlborough Sounds. His owner won't give him up for dead so a local fisherman helps search for the dog.
Herbert miraculously survives more than 30 hours in the sea and becomes famous.
Robyn Belton's writing and illustration are a perfect marriage, each contributing essential details to the telling.
Her watercolours are fabulous in the glowering storm scenes, and the dolphins are a nice imagining of what might have happened to Herbert.
Could become a classic for ages 5 to 7.
Oliver sneaks through a hole in the fence and into a grassy jungle of strange creatures.
Eventually, he ends up in a pond, bedraggled and captured.
Sue Hitchcock's illustrations have enormous dynamic energy, and children will love Oliver as a drowned rat.
Another wee gem is Gavin Bishop's version of the English rhyme THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN (Gecko Press, hbk, $20) inspired by the 1844 illustrations by Aliquis.
The woman goes up in her basket to brush cobwebs off the sky. Some very large and hairy spiders are chased off the moon's beaming face.
The pictures have enough humour to balance the spookiness here.
A lovely first book (in durable board style) for the very young.
CREATURES AOTEAROA by Dylan Owen (Gecko Press, pbk, $19) is an unusual picture book topic.
It has photos of many modern New Zealand works of art that feature animals. There's an iron dog, strawberry cows, moonfish and rainbow people. They are loosely linked by effective poetic lines by Owen.
Though there's a lack of story, the images will appeal to preschoolers.
Baby gets trapped inside a huge bubble and is bibbled and bobbled, wibbled and wobbled away over the town.
The townsfolk give chase and baby is rescued by a rascal with a slingshot.
This is a rollicking read-aloud tongue-twister.
Stephens Island in Cook Strait was a bird paradise in the 1890s, until the introduction of cats.
This book tells how Tibbles the cat helped make the wren extinct in just two years.
Gillian Warden's illustrations are stunning - the clashing reds and greens create a creepy atmosphere.
Don't look for a happy ending in this tale: as one character says, "Nothing comes back when it's extinct."
The plot follows the moth's five-year life cycle, showing the native animals that come and go while she sleeps inside a tree.
Pencil sketches are inserted to track the life of a human child over the same period of time.
The concept works well and Whitmore's textured paintings create a striking collage effect.
MY FAVOURITE PLACES by Martin Bailey (Mallinson Rendel, hbk, $25) also features some imaginative illustrations.
A young boy journeys to many exotic places in his mind as he plays in the great outdoors.
A branch becomes a cowboy's horse and a gravel pile becomes a cliff as he imagines new adventures.
Suitable for ages 4 to 6.
• Raymond Huber is a Dunedin teacher.
