TRIBOUT, Rachel (text & illus.) Daniel Patman (text) The Monsters of Tasmania (The Adventures of Captain Blueberry Book 1), Captain Blueberry Press , 2014 unpaged $29.95 ISBN 9780992451004
This is the first book in a series of adventures of Captain Blueberry and his first mate Albert. Captain Blueberry is a French sailor that some people think is crazy because she believes in monsters. Travelling from France around the world Captain Blueberry sets out to prove the existence of monsters; some of the monsters disguise themselves as islands with villages built on their tails. Captain Blueberry continues her journey to the bottom of the world landing in Tasmania where she dives with giant weedy sea dragons. After writing a letter home with pictures proving the existence of monsters Captain Blueberry and Albert point their boat towards the setting sun to begin another adventure.
The back of the book includes worksheets for children to draw pictures of monsters they saw in the book and draw and list monsters they may have found in their travels. This large book contains vivid illustrations that bring folk tales to life and will have children looking for monsters in the ordinary and mundane.
reviewed by Katie Poidomani