Gavin Bishop: Tom Thumb: The True Story of Sir Thomas Thumb

By MARGIE THOMSON

After the creative originality of The House That Jack Built where he used the traditional rhyme and his own illustrations to tell the story of New Zealand's settlement of New Zealand by Maori and Pakeha, as a result winning Book of the Year in last year's New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards, Bishop's new book is disappointing. Having had our expectations raised by the delightful complexity of The House That Jack Built, Tom Thumb seems thin by comparison.

It is a fairly straight telling of the classic tale, presented as a pantomime, and operating almost entirely on one level, although Bishop does draw attention to issues such as beauty, difference, acceptance and dignity. Bishop's illustrations are characteristically rich and can, as he accentuates with some of his cartoon sequences, almost tell the story themselves.

All in all, though, this doesn't feel like an inspired project.

Random House

$29.95