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The Big Big Sea
A young girl and her mother take a nighttime walk to the sea, creating beautiful memories of a special experience
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
About the author
Martin Waddell
559 books100 followershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_W...
Also writes under the pen name Catherine Sefton
Martin Waddell is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.
Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2004).
Also writes under the pen name Catherine Sefton
Martin Waddell is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.
Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2004).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
May 30, 2020
Lovely pictures and sentiment. Not a lot of words, but they are well-chosen. Overall I think the illustrator deserves most of the credit and I will look for more by her. Highly recommend you spend five minutes with this; it might even be a five-star book for some of you.
May 16, 2018
"I'll always remember just mum and me and the night that we walked by the big big sea."
This picture book is one that I remember vividly from my own childhood, I must have been two when it was first read to me in 1994. The gentleness of this book, and the ethereal illustrations, meant that I could remember each page and with it the special time when my own mum read this story to me and I dreamed of the big big sea.
This is a beautiful story, written with a child-like wonder in the lyrical prose, of a mother and daughter who go out at night with no one but each other. "We went over the field and under the fence and I saw the sea in the moonlight, waiting for me." The girl is spellbound by the size of the sea and the way light plays upon it. "I went right into the shiny big. There was only me and the big big sea." The narrative is immersive, I felt as if I was there as a child. "We felt very small, mum and me." It captures an intimate moment, a feeling of total security that the girl will be safe in the otherwordly sea at night because her mother is there. "I got cold and mum carried me all the way back." The emotion really touched me as a child, and is one I hope to share with Baby J.
The illustrations give the simple text an immersive quality. Jennifer Euchus' portraits are vividly realistic, and yet also illuminated by a soft firelight quality which gives them a sense of occupying a time and space removed from everyday life. "We didn't go to the town. We just stayed for a while by the sea. And mum said to me, 'Remember this time. It's the way life should be.'" I was first read this book before I had ever seen the sea myself, but I felt its movement, its its reflective power, its ungraspableness. The girl and her mother glow like spirits through this scene, the glow of a memory that soothes long into the future. Reading this book leaves a little of that profound calm and togetherness in me. I truly felt that I had dipped my toes in the big big sea.
This picture book is one that I remember vividly from my own childhood, I must have been two when it was first read to me in 1994. The gentleness of this book, and the ethereal illustrations, meant that I could remember each page and with it the special time when my own mum read this story to me and I dreamed of the big big sea.
This is a beautiful story, written with a child-like wonder in the lyrical prose, of a mother and daughter who go out at night with no one but each other. "We went over the field and under the fence and I saw the sea in the moonlight, waiting for me." The girl is spellbound by the size of the sea and the way light plays upon it. "I went right into the shiny big. There was only me and the big big sea." The narrative is immersive, I felt as if I was there as a child. "We felt very small, mum and me." It captures an intimate moment, a feeling of total security that the girl will be safe in the otherwordly sea at night because her mother is there. "I got cold and mum carried me all the way back." The emotion really touched me as a child, and is one I hope to share with Baby J.
The illustrations give the simple text an immersive quality. Jennifer Euchus' portraits are vividly realistic, and yet also illuminated by a soft firelight quality which gives them a sense of occupying a time and space removed from everyday life. "We didn't go to the town. We just stayed for a while by the sea. And mum said to me, 'Remember this time. It's the way life should be.'" I was first read this book before I had ever seen the sea myself, but I felt its movement, its its reflective power, its ungraspableness. The girl and her mother glow like spirits through this scene, the glow of a memory that soothes long into the future. Reading this book leaves a little of that profound calm and togetherness in me. I truly felt that I had dipped my toes in the big big sea.
November 5, 2011
Another piece of magic for the bookshelf.
One of the pages has a life size child's footprint in the sand.
When I first bought this book - my son's foot was much smaller when he placed it over the footprint picture.
Every so often he would check to see how his foot was growing in comparison.
I remember how pleased he was when it fitted exactly.
Now his footprint is bigger than the book!
Lovely words - poetic combined with spell-binding illustrations. You can feel the sea breeze and the sand between your toes.
One of the pages has a life size child's footprint in the sand.
When I first bought this book - my son's foot was much smaller when he placed it over the footprint picture.
Every so often he would check to see how his foot was growing in comparison.
I remember how pleased he was when it fitted exactly.
Now his footprint is bigger than the book!
Lovely words - poetic combined with spell-binding illustrations. You can feel the sea breeze and the sand between your toes.
April 9, 2012
Bought for my daughter when she was abo0ut 2. Absolutely beautiful mother and daughter picture book. Still makes me emotional when I think of it! Very evocative illutrations.
September 19, 2019
SBC Summer Text
The Big Big sea is the story of a young girl and her mother going to the beach one evening. It is a simple but beautiful story about the bond between a mother and her daughter and the memories created that stick in the mind of both forever. The text is simply written, taking the way a child speaks and using the repetition often used by children when describing an event e.g. repetition of the word ‘and’ on almost every page ‘I splashed and I laughed and Mum came after me and we paddled out deep in the water’. It cleverly mirrors the way of writing stories that children are often discouraged from, meaning it keeps the childlike feel throughout, as though you really are inside this girl’s head, seeing the sea through her eyes and feeling her emotions. Waddell uses very little text, dedicating the book mainly to the beautiful illustrations, which are often spread across the double page. Usually the text is opposite a full page illustration, set out in the way a poem is but spread throughout the whole book. This book has always been special to me, as I read it with my own mum as a child and we used to recreate the pages of the story on beach holidays.
This story would be great for children to use as a stimulus - what would you do if you went for a night time walk along the beach? What kind of things would you see/hear? What is the difference between a beach at night and a beach in the day? Most children have been to the seaside but it would be an interesting discussion to see if any had been in the quiet and calm of the evening.
The Big Big sea is the story of a young girl and her mother going to the beach one evening. It is a simple but beautiful story about the bond between a mother and her daughter and the memories created that stick in the mind of both forever. The text is simply written, taking the way a child speaks and using the repetition often used by children when describing an event e.g. repetition of the word ‘and’ on almost every page ‘I splashed and I laughed and Mum came after me and we paddled out deep in the water’. It cleverly mirrors the way of writing stories that children are often discouraged from, meaning it keeps the childlike feel throughout, as though you really are inside this girl’s head, seeing the sea through her eyes and feeling her emotions. Waddell uses very little text, dedicating the book mainly to the beautiful illustrations, which are often spread across the double page. Usually the text is opposite a full page illustration, set out in the way a poem is but spread throughout the whole book. This book has always been special to me, as I read it with my own mum as a child and we used to recreate the pages of the story on beach holidays.
This story would be great for children to use as a stimulus - what would you do if you went for a night time walk along the beach? What kind of things would you see/hear? What is the difference between a beach at night and a beach in the day? Most children have been to the seaside but it would be an interesting discussion to see if any had been in the quiet and calm of the evening.
April 22, 2014
A beautiful storybook from our permanent collection of never boxed children's books. This one we bought while on a trip, when we tripped over an unheard of book by an author we knew. We never quite had this moment, but it rang true for all the beach trips we ever had.
July 19, 2008
It is the illustrations in this book that really stunned me. This book is beautiful and the story is sweet. I love it and my children do as well.
June 7, 2010
Beautiful and dreamy. MrD and I read this as a library book, but now I'm planning to buy a copy of our own.
July 8, 2019
I LOVE this book! This is the very first book I learned to read as a child and I plan to pass it down to my child.
July 15, 2019
Beautiful book - perfect for reception. Input for a discussion on ‘the way life should be’ perhaps.
January 27, 2016
One of our favorite children's books. The art is so gorgeous to go along with a great little story.
January 25, 2021
A lovely story of a mother and daughter going for a moonlit walk by the sea. A nice adventure under the moonlit sky as they splashed and laughed getting wet by the sea. Then a walk along the shoreline making foot holes in the sand. The mother carried her daughter home when she got cold. The story had a warm ending as they sat by the fire, eating hot buttered toast, with the daughter falling asleep on her mother's knee.
April 14, 2019
I used to love this story but I can't remember what book I read it from, it was definitely in the back of some sort of nursery rhyme book and I'd love to figure out what the name of the book was if anyone knows what I'm talking about? It MAY have been a yellow book but I could be wrong , it could also have been blue 😂
December 13, 2018
What a sweet lyrical story. One warm night a little girl and her mother go for a walk in the moonlight, enjoying the big, big sea, and the quiet pleasure of life. Stunningly beautiful, realistic illustrations.
September 6, 2021
Read to my son many times as a younger toddler up to probably 8 years of age. Beautiful pictures and message. Just gorgeous. Great one to buy as a gift for new parents, this book builds lovely parent and child memories ❤️
June 12, 2017
I was actually looking for a different Waddell book when I saw this on the shelf. A story of a child with her mother at the ocean in the moonlight? Yes, please.
June 13, 2017
Lovely book. Bought for granddaughter.
October 30, 2019
On the back of this book is a review that describes this book as a visual poem. This seems the perfect description. The illustrations are subtle but beautiful and the words too.
March 15, 2020
The illustrations are so smooth and textured all at once. Really wonderful to read through.
January 4, 2023
this was the first christmas present that I ever got
December 6, 2025
Gorgeous illustrations
May 24, 2026
Very comforting to read again.
August 23, 2026
Martin Waddell's books are wonderful for reading aloud.
This would be lovely to read to your child as a bedtime story.
Beautiful soft, calming illustrations by Jennifer Eachus.
This would be lovely to read to your child as a bedtime story.
Beautiful soft, calming illustrations by Jennifer Eachus.
September 10, 2014
In this story a little girl visits the beach with her Mom, and is fascinated by the beauty of the big sea. As she gazes at the moon, runs into the water and makes footprints in the sand with her Mom, she is reminded that "this time, it's the way life should be". This book emphasizes the fact that spending time together with someone you love doing the simple things, like taking a walk by the ocean, is the best kind of time spent of all.
While the text is written in the little girl's perspective, the reader experiences a change of perspective because of the illustrations. The sepia like tone of the images set the simplistic feeling the reader experiences throughout this book. I really enjoyed the artistry and the beauty of the ocean that the illustrator captured. It is a feel good book.
While the text is written in the little girl's perspective, the reader experiences a change of perspective because of the illustrations. The sepia like tone of the images set the simplistic feeling the reader experiences throughout this book. I really enjoyed the artistry and the beauty of the ocean that the illustrator captured. It is a feel good book.
August 22, 2016
What an emotional book. ❤ My son & I love going to the beach so this book has a very special place in our hearts.
The illustration is gorgeous; it looks so real that you feel like walking through the book as you read it; the cool wind & the spray of cold salty water..
The words are simple & soft..but warming, somehow. I think it's the strong bond between a mother and a child makes it so special & meaningful.
A memorable book.
The illustration is gorgeous; it looks so real that you feel like walking through the book as you read it; the cool wind & the spray of cold salty water..
The words are simple & soft..but warming, somehow. I think it's the strong bond between a mother and a child makes it so special & meaningful.
A memorable book.
August 12, 2014
My mum and I's favourite book when I was a child, she would read to me every night when I was little and such simple stories can have such a massive impact on who you are as an adult. I love how personal the girls relationship is with her mother and yet how simple the story is. I love the illustrations of the moon and the beach. It's just a beautiful story
June 29, 2015
A very nice little story about how one day a mother woke her daughter up and took her to see the sea under the moonlight.
It has a nice little lesson inside and the illustrations are gorgeous. There aren't a lot of words to the story, so make the most of your storytime with this book by looking at the pictures and talking about them with your little ones.
It has a nice little lesson inside and the illustrations are gorgeous. There aren't a lot of words to the story, so make the most of your storytime with this book by looking at the pictures and talking about them with your little ones.
September 27, 2013
A mama and little girl sneak out on to the beach at night for a swim and to bask in the moonshine. "And Mama said to me, 'Remember this time. It's the way life should be.'" We need more of these moments:)
August 24, 2008
This is another book with great, lyrical text describing a sweet story...
but with only so-so, uninspiring illustrations.
Definitely read before you buy.
but with only so-so, uninspiring illustrations.
Definitely read before you buy.
April 9, 2012
A magical book I read again and again thoughout my childhood with my mum.
I love it, and I love the memories of reading it.
I love it, and I love the memories of reading it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews