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Find out what Mumsnetters thought of picture book Sunk! by Rob Biddulph

30 replies

SorchaMumsnet · 14/03/2017 17:34

Introducing: children's author Rob Biddulph and his latest picture book, Sunk!. Find out more about the book and author.

A pirate hat.
A sunny day.
For Penguin Blue
A game to play.

Penguin Blue, star of the bestselling picture book, Blown Away, is back with his friends for a new adventure.This time they've swapped the perils of kite-flying for sunken wrecks and brave buccaneers. So hoist the colours and set sail - it's time to hit the treasure trail!

We ask all winners to share their child's thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. Everyone who gives detailed feedback on the book by midday Monday 1 May will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher:

This giveaway is sponsored by Harper Collins Kids

Book giveaways T&Cs apply

Find out what Mumsnetters thought of picture book Sunk! by Rob Biddulph
Find out what Mumsnetters thought of picture book Sunk! by Rob Biddulph
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Pigeonpea · 12/09/2017 13:06

My little girl thinks this book is awesome - she loves how they all play a part and work together to create a fun park at the end
However, great observation skills - who pushes the swings? How do they get the zip wire back up to the start..........

2mummies2010 · 19/06/2017 12:38

My son LOVED this book. He loves pirates and things about the sea so this was great for him. He liked pretending to be a pirate afterwards.

katiefish · 13/06/2017 09:53

We read this regularly at bedtime, my little ones love it, how it rhymes and the pictures. They have even told their friends and my best mate has now bought it for her little ones.

sjl19 · 12/06/2017 20:32

Thanks for our copy of Sunk. My 4 year old son loves it. We really enjoy reading it together and looking at the pictures. My son loves the pirate ship playground at the end and he even asked if we could visit it so he could play there too!

miahighland · 12/06/2017 18:43

Lovely story and pictures. My daughter loves the book. I already know the story by heart.

buddles · 12/06/2017 18:37

Thank you very much for my copy.

It arrived after my son's recent project on pirates at school so anything pirate related is a big hit with him (and me!)

It is a beautifully illustrated book, with charming characters, interesting page layouts and a joyful rhyming text.

It's fast becoming a favourite in our house. Thanks again, Mumsnet.

katiewalters · 12/06/2017 18:15

I looked at this book with my 3yr old and 7yr old. They both enjoyed the book, and thought it was funny. They liked that it was a rhyming text, and my youngest enjoyed the illustrations. The characters were likeable, and it was a fun story to read

webster147 · 01/05/2017 19:54

We were already fans of Rob Biddulph, our bookshelf contains some of our favourites like Blown Away and Odd Dog Out so I knew the children would love Sunk!. Daisy (5) & Jake (2) loved the colourful quirky characters and the fun story. Daisy said her favourite thing about Sunk! was that Daddy used a pirate voice to read it. Both children enjoyed the rhyming story and Daddy and I found it so enjoyable to read out loud to the children.

FrenchieMum2Be · 30/04/2017 21:14

My 3-year old daughter loves the book (although we haven't read the others fromthe same author). The language is easily accessible for her and the pictures are eye-catching. She particularly enjoys the 'twist' of finding the shipwreck as the boat is sinking :)
Nice story and is now part of the shortlist of favourite books for bedtime reading.

Celama · 28/04/2017 07:31

This is a beautifully illustrated book with captivating images that appeal greatly to young children and make parents smile. The poem flowed well and was fun and even the layout added another dimension to the reading of it. I bought this as a new book to keep at my house for my nephew but even my older children enjoyed reading it themselves and amusingly, asking for it to be read as a bedtime story themselves! A very, very good book which I'm sure will go on to be a recommended title for young children.

Clawdy · 24/04/2017 15:35

This book was delightful and such fun. Dgs loves pirates so for him it was the ideal book. The pictures were so zany and clever. A book to keep.

DBhatt14 · 23/04/2017 11:30

Thank you for the book love that it's a big hardback perfect for my 4 year old who can be quite rough with books. He is really into priates at the moment so this a perfect book for him. The big colourful pictures hold his attention. I think the priate speak is a little hard for him to understand but I'm sure as he gets older he will pick it up. He really enjoys the look and the story is just right for his attention span. We haven't read the first one but will look out for it as he enjoyed the book. I like the fact the the words at different directions as it keeps my child engaged. Overall a lovely kids book which I'm sure we will be reading a lot.

Gerjuice · 21/04/2017 10:54

Thank you for sending us this book by Rob Biddulph. Sunk! is a lovely hardback large print book with beautiful pictures. The story is easy to follow and the length is just perfect. Having said that, we read it four times before my 3.5 year old was really able to follow the story fully, asking several questions along the way about the language and scenes. I think it would have been easier for him age 4+, though each child is different of course. Now he can following the story line and loves joining in the 'pirate' language. His cousin also sat a looked through it recently, so obviously attention-catching for kids!

SurfgirlG · 20/04/2017 21:55

My DD is 14 mths and we have been reading to her every night since she was a couple of months old. We already own Rob Biddulph's other books (Blown Away, Grrrrr and Odd Dog Out), which she loves, so were delighted to receive Sunk.
The illustrations are beautiful and the rhyming story is a good pace and length. It is nice to see some familiar characters from Blown Away. My DD is captivated by the book and enjoys pointing at different characters. I like the use of different text directions on some pages, but like some other readers, would say that on a couple of pages it is hard to read the text due to the very dark underwater illustrations.
Thank you for the book, which will be enjoyed in our household for a long time to come.

KarenCBC · 18/04/2017 21:53

Thanks very much for the book!

Initially DS (just 3) wasn't sure about the book. We've never really read much about pirates so the "pirate speak" was a bit baffling to him an some of the vocabulary went over his head a little. However, the illustrations are gorgeous, he loves the ocean theme and really enjoyed "Blown Away" which featured the same characters so he kept requesting it at bedtime. Now, after a few weeks with the book, he enjoys being a pirate in his role playing games and can even recite some of the book from memory! Its a new favourite.

Thanks Mumsnet, Harper Collins and Rob Biddulph!

itsacatastrophe · 18/04/2017 20:00

We received the book, thank you very much. Ds(5) has requested it twice and enjoys flicking through and looking at the picture on his own. We really enjoyed the story. I enjoy reading rhyming books, and ds enjoyed the adventure and we had a wonderful time discussing the pirate ship playground at the end, talking about our favourite things and spotting all the little penguins. Would certainly recommend

Givemecoffeeplease · 06/04/2017 09:28

What a great book! Love the incredibly detailed illustrations and the text changes/ flows/drops with the story - such a fun way of bringing words and the story to life.

The poem is fun, catchy and clever. The pirate theme is always a hit with kids.

A treat to have a hardback book too, gorgeous cover.

Clive and the penguins are my faves. I'm glad they all escaped the Island. Great book Rob. Thanks to you and Mumsnet.

alexiscasey123 · 05/04/2017 20:49

What a wonderful book, it is beautifully illustrated and has a lovely feel to the pages too. My daughter is pirate mad and has asked to be read it several times. The poem is catchy and fun, I'd recommend it to any pirate fans, and am planning to buy his first book.

miahighland · 05/04/2017 20:25

Lovely book. My daughter loves the images and the imaginative fun story. It is one of the best stories we have ever red. I had to read it 5 nights in a row!!! Also nice message.

Leserlee · 05/04/2017 18:10

I gave it to my nephew and he has wanted to read it every night so far at bedtime. He loves anything pirate

Booklover123 · 05/04/2017 16:54

Thankyou so much for this book. Our3 year old adores it and so do I! The rhythm of words and illustrations are spot on and so enjoyable for both the reader and child. Well done Rob, a masterpiece that you should be proud of. You can instantly tell that he is a parent of a little one.

Oli001 · 05/04/2017 14:58

Thank you so much: We received our book, appropriately, on Saturday 26th, after ds's 6th birthday party, so was very excited to read that night. When ds saw the cover was a Penguin excitement grew further, as his class is named Penguins! When the cover came off the book and we saw the pirate badge and the penguin on the back we could not wait to open the adventure... the illustrations were great. The rhyming was fun to read (with mum's pirate accent), we even liked Clive (as his older sister 8 who was listening in loves Polar bears!). Treasure and counting with a looping figure trail took us across the pages. With all the sea creature to help Capt. Walker Plank - up came the ship - with canons blowing bubbles and all shape and sizes of slides, (ds loves slides & bubbles) friendship was made! Each penguin was given a name from the class!
Would definitely recommend to anyone who loves a book!

Februaryrat · 05/04/2017 14:11

The illustrations in this book are just beautiful.

My 4 year old DD adores pirates, and loved the treasure map - though she wanted to know why there were so many more boys than girls (she is very critical of anything that isn't gender balanced!).

Some of the pages were a little dark to read, and as so many children's books use very bright colours to hold attention, I felt that it was a task sometimes to get DD interested in a page, although the rhyme definitely helped that.

I think as she gets older, this will definitely be a book she will enjoy reading by herself - particularly getting to turn the book on its side to read the text etc.

ozgirl74 · 05/04/2017 13:14

This is so gorgeous. Loving Rob Biddulph's work and this is so great for Reception classes doing Pirates this term. My daughter loves it already and I have recommended it to someone else as a gift to buy.

Joanne2010 · 05/04/2017 12:49

I received this on my birthday so was a lovely surprise. My 3 yr old girl loves sharks so this book was perfect for her. We read it straightaway and she loved it. I particularly loved the illustrations and the prose was also beautifully written. Would really recommend this book.

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