BOB AND DOB

Bob and Dob are brother birds with distinctively different personalities.

Adventurous Bob pushes boundaries and takes chances. Dob is a “dobber” (Australian slang for a tattletale) who watches his brother’s every move and delights in reporting his misdeeds to their mother. Bob begs him to stop, and finally Mother has also had enough and demands that he no longer inform on his brother. Delighted at this reprieve, Bob sneaks away to search for worms. But Dob has again followed him and sees a crocodile closing in on the unsuspecting Bob. Dob’s attempts to get help are stymied by his mom’s injunction against his tales. Now he must use his storytelling skills to save Bob from the croc’s jaws. His ploy works, Croc is humiliated, and Dob can now tell the tale of his heroism. Avery presents the events in carefully manipulated vignettes, employing a narrator’s description as well as word bubbles containing characters’ statements placed within the illustrations, which depict Bob as blue, Dob as red, and Mother as an imposing purple. Their every expression is captured by slight changes in their beaks, pupils, or eyebrows, indicating joy, consternation, or anger. Little ones will love reading this story and returning to find new details. Though the word dobber isn’t defined, its meaning is clear in context.

A thrilling tale with a gently conveyed moral.