A Very Small Something - by David Hickey (Paperback)

About the Book

A poetic adventure story, fabulously illustrated, that teaches the true meaning of love and belonging.

Book Synopsis

From A Very Small Something:

Somewhere past the wrinkled maps, and under
another sun, where favourite earrings find new ears
and missing marbles run, the hillsides made
their marvelous shapes for a town called Covington--

And a great pink factory as long as the breeze
weighed truckfuls and truckfuls of bubblegum.

Olivia Bezzlebee lives by the sea in a fantastic town with the world's biggest bubblegum factory, where its citizens blow bubbles all day. But Olivia can't blow a single one and feels as if everyone looks down on her. Leaving Covington to find a place where she might belong, she learns the true meanings of family and home.

A Very Small Something, beautifully illustrated by Alexander Griggs-Burr, is a story to which all children--and any tuned-in parent--will be able to relate. Blowing bubbles may indeed be a very small something . . . but when you are a small child and it's the thing you most want to do, a bubble can mean the whole world.

David Hickey is one of the leading young poets in Canada, and the author of two collections, including Open Air Bindery . He has tested his children's poems in schools across the country for the last seven years. He is finishing a PhD at the University of Western in London, Ontario.

Alexander Griggs-Burr illustrated the Ontario Library Association Red Maple-nominated Nieve in 2010. He lives and works in Stratford, Ontario.

Review Quotes

"I like this book mainly because it's about gum, and gum is one of my favourite snacks ... My favourite kind of gum flavour is raspberry. I don't know how to blow bubbles yet, but my sister can. She's nine. In the back of the book, there is a guide to blowing bubbles (it's pretty funny actually). There are 10 easy steps. I'm going to follow it - but hopefully I don't get lifted up to the clouds!"--Myles, aged 7, Papertrails Family Book Blog

"This whimsical tale, told in lilting poetic form, harkens back to stories written a generation or more ago. The poetry itself is beautiful, trumped only by the fantastic tale it tells. The corresponding illustrations, brightly colored and quirkily drawn, enhance the story's magical feel. For readers who'd like to expand on the story, the author offers a website that includes coloring sheets based on illustrations from the book, as well as a read-aloud version of the poem by John Leonard. A lovely story for both preschoolers and early elementary children--and parents looking for stories filled with wonder."--Parent Wise

"The story of Olive Bezzlebee's fantastic struggle to blow bubbles will be sure to appeal to any child who's tried that very thing."--Calgary's Child Magazine

"[Hickey] has put together a wonderful book that both children and parents alike will enjoy and the illustrations within the book are also ones that will just jump off the page! I highly recommend this to all!"--Dad of Divas

"A Very Small Something captures simple longing with levity and will appeal to many aspiring bubble blowers."--CM Magazine