Claude All At Sea

Claude

by Alex T. Smith (Contributor)

In this glorious picture book Claude goes on a rollicking seafaring adventure! He swooshes out of the house in the bathtub - and out to sea! He and Sir Bobblysock meet mermaids, dolphins, Captain Poopdeck, and an enormous, ferocious sea monster called Nigel! Can Claude save them all from the monster? Praise for Claude: 'Quirky illustrations and plenty of humour.' The Metro Alex T. Smith was the World Book Day illustrator in 2014. He is the author of the internationally bestselling fiction series Claude, which was shortlisted for the Waterstone's Prize and was part of the Richard and Judy Book Club. Follow Alex at www.alextsmith.com and https://twitter.com/Alex_T_Smith

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2016

About the author

Alex T. Smith is the creator of the much-loved and bestselling Claude fiction series for early readers. He was the official World Book Day illustrator in 2014, and other recent accolades include the UKLA Picture Book Award for Little Red and the Very Hungry Lion and the Children’s Book of the World Illustration Award for illustrating Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians. When not working, Alex enjoys doodling in his sketchbook, reading, people-watching, and eavesdropping. He lives under the watchful eye of his small canine companions, who are a constant source of inspiration to him.

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 4 out of 5]

We prefer the larger, traditional picture book format still, it seems (this one, as opposed to the novel-format). Claude's always a safe bet for amusement.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claude starts a bath and forgets about it...which results in a little bit of a flood and sends Claude and Sir Bobblysock out to sea. There they run into a sea monster named Nigel and must figure out how to save themselves and others.

I just reread McCloskey's Burt Dow, Deep Water Man recently and this book reminds me of that. (And both of those seem to be nods to the biblical Jonah story.) This is a new format for Claude. It is a picture book and only about half the length of his other books. It still starts and ends the same way as the other Claude books, and definitely features the same humor. As expected with Claude, there's a wild adventure and a moment where Claude becomes the hero. (His solution for the monster is most unexpected, but simple, and results in making the area much safer for all.) I'd use this as an intro to Claude and once kids are hooked point them to his longer books.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this short Claude picture book, Claude gets swallowed by a sea monster and must problem solve his way out along with his new pals that he meets in the belly of the beast.

[Javin]

Great for ks1. Perfect for planning english lessons.

[Tim Roast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this for my children. One mentioned that her friend read Claude the dog books so she was familiar with the character already. Claude is also set to shortly have his own TV show on Disney Junior.

This story is of Claude and his friend Sir Bobblysock who always have adventures together when Claude's owners, Mr and Mrs Shinyshoes, go out to work. This time the adventure takes them out to sea.

All through the books are nice illustrations made of a limited colour palette (red, blue, black, grey, white, yellow) which make the book very appealing visually. The story is also fast-moving and succinct. There is a spelling mistake in there where Sir Bobblysock gets called Sir Bobbysock in one place but the children of course love it.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, witty and charming, Claude is a favourite for beginner readers - now for the first time, one of his adventures is in a picture book, and it's just as much fun to read and follow the detail in the illustrations as you would hope.
Truly gorgeous!