Little Blue

Gaye Chapman (author/illustrator)

Little Hare Books, Australia: 2008

ISBN: 9781921049989

Genres: fantasy, picture book

Issues: identity, sense of place

CBCA Notable Book, Picture Book of the Year, 2009

The delicate and detailed watercolour illustrations are what first capture the attention in this picture book.

They immediately carry the reader into the kind of fairytale woods where Hansel and Gretel became lost. The kind of woods, rather English in feel, where a child might find any number of curious creatures. The tree trunks appear to have faces, the stones are animalistic in shape.

This natural world emphasizes how out of place Little Blue's blue and white formality is when Will finds her. As they compare notes about their similar-but-different lives, the children come to recognise the things that matter to them - the things that mean ‘home'.
The use of blue line drawings to capture Little Blue's increasingly detailed memories also serve, later in the story, to show how Willow pattern plates were based on the porcelain artists' home environments.

Although a delightful concept and beautifully illustrated, this story of a missing chip in a willow pattern plate lacks the carefully crafted writing to link the reader emotionally to the characters. Although appropriately repetitive for young readers/listeners, ‘Little Blue' lacks the rhythm and lyricism of the best picture books.