I just want to give Millie, the small dinosaur, a big cuddle. When we meet Millie she is being terrorised by big, bad Reggie. He loves to scare Millie, but Millie is not having any fun at all. She is scared.
Her friends come to her rescue and scare big, bad Reggie away by each using their own something special.
Gus can "ROOOOOAR!"
Lea can Swoop and SWWHOOOOOOOSH!
And Don can stomp his feet BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Millie is grateful to her friends but it only makes her sad. Hiding her head in her feathers "I was too frightened to do anything."
Her friends explain that their something special is what they do to make themselves feel brave. On her way home, she thinks about the wonderful things her friends can do and wonders if she will be able to find her something special. Just as she has that thought, who do you think jumps out of the bushes? Yep, you guessed it. Big, bad Reggie.
Millie Freezes.
I won't tell you what Millie's special something is, but I will say she absolutely finds it.
I felt warm after reading this. This story touches on so many things. Bullying, friendship, self esteem and overcoming fear. It is such a well rounded story that really made me smile. The paper sculptures are just wonderful. Little Millie is just adorable while big, bad Reggie is terrifying! There is one particular picture where you can see his alarmingly horrifying tongue escaping from his giant toothy mouth.
There are so many things a child can take away from this book, if you see this book do take a look. A delightful read.
Title: Millie's Special Something
Author: Tania Cox
Illustrator: David Miller
Publisher: Working Title Press, $24.95 RRP
Publication Date: March 2012
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781921504389
For ages: 4+
Type: Picture Book
