Another charming book from a well established children’s author-illustrator and issued by her own publishing enterprise. This picture book is in a slightly comic-strip style with mixed sizes of pictures all in pastel colours. It is a book to read aloud and will capture a sense of adventure for young children. 

The terse text and splashy illustrations of Zoe’s Boat are properly scary and yet utterly charming. As for Dear Old Dog, scruffy and mournful and tolerant and needy and indignant and loyal and brave, with one bound he has captured my heart.

It was a pleasure to pick up this picturebook which manages to be whimsical and charming in a modern graphic format... This book tells young readers much about friendship. It would be an excellent read-aloud story for young children and an appealing adventure for newly independent readers to enjoy.

A story about friendship encompassing cosiness, adventure, excitement, fear and reassurance, told as a graphic novel for younger readers and illustrated with all the characteristic subtlety of Gillian McClure's palette.  It could be favourite reading for young readers for a long time to come.

I can’t resist telling you about reading Zoe’s Boat to Samuel yesterday. About to start school for the first time, he insisted that I must read it to him ‘like a teacher’. So, instead of him being on my lap or beside me, he sat opposite me while I held the book open for him to see the pictures, and then read the story. Which meant that I could see his face as I read. As the devoted dog followed Zoe’s boat, unnoticed by Zoe, Samuel’s eyes filled with tears! When we got to the end of the story he said nothing for a moment, then … ‘Read it again, Granny.’
 
I suspect we’ll be revisiting that book, noticing more and more of the lovely details of hatching eggs etc., many many times over. Hooray! It’s a delight.