What Are People Saying?

Penny Evans, Librarian

“What a fantastic presenter! Susea toured all three of our libraries with her book A Big Blue Boat, presenting the story with incredible style and skill, and then leading the children in an excellent craft. Those in attendance were thoroughly engaged with Susea throughout the session, and we can’t wait to have her back again.”

Penny Evans, Childrens and Youth Services Librarian, Port Macquarie Library

Cassie McKenna, Librarian

Susea Spray’s story “A Big Blue Boat” takes children on a wonderful adventure. It’s clever use of rhythm, and words that roll off your tongue make it fun to read and listen to. I found that even for children who live a long way from the ocean, that aren’t really familiar with boats, were provided with beautiful imagery to trigger their interest and make them want to read more and to go sailing.

Having Susea Spray visit our regional library branch, to read the book, talk about her inspiration and do some sail boat craft with the children, was a great treat. Local families were delighted to welcome the author, and the children engaged well with her as she passionately read her book. Children from infants to primary school students were entertained by this reading, and delighted to ask her questions – she certainly spurred some interest in sailing.

Cassie McKenna, Library Services Coordinator & Youth Worker at Walcha Council Library

A Fun and Educational Adventure on the High Seas

I recently read A Big Blue Boat and enjoyed the unique writing style where parts repeated and built upon the sentence from the previous page. The illustrations were colorful and had a charming handpainted look that felt nostalgic. The book follows the journey of a boat, introducing young readers to different boat parts like the mast, anchor, keel, wheel, and rudder.’

Anders Roseberg, Feb 19, 2023, Amazon (US)

From a grandmother

I was reading the story to my 9 year old grandson and when I had finished he said ‘That’s such a relaxing book. It’s really calming. The way the words roll is really nice to listen to.’

Anne

A colourful picture book about sailing

I love the bright, bold colours in the illustrations which immediately attract the attention of young children. Kids will also love the repetition of the phrases in the story. There is a very useful glossary at the back which helps the readers understand all the nautical terms. I received a copy of the book from the author for free and really enjoyed it.

By Frances Mackay, Feb 16, 2023, Amazon (AU)

Clever and colourful

A simple title for a book that delivers a lot of value in a picture book. The author employs rhyme, alliteration, onomatopoeia, descriptive adjectives, and sentence building to offer a host of learning opportunities for toddlers and preschoolers.

The words are associated with the colors that represent them, each page adds more text so that as the book unfolds readers repeat and reinforce the learning. At the end of the book a glossary is included to remind young readers exactly what those “hard words” mean.

The female captain is a role model for young girls unaccostumed to seeing females heading up the captain’s job.

This book is one that will be read over and over, each time reinforcing and building upon the learning that has already taken place.

Highly recommended for parents, teachers, and librarians who work with toddlers and preschoolers.

Barbara Anne, Feb 09 2023, Amazon (US)

Inspiring Dreams to Dream and Sailors to Sail

This linguistically colorful book with beautiful illustrations will spark the imagination of any child and adult to venture and sail. The print in this book is colorful and the words as well, sing song on the tongue as they twist a sweet tale of dreaming and sailing. A glossary of terms is included to help expand vocabulary. If your child loves the water, loves to sail or is fascinated with boats this is the book to get! Great writing and great sailing!

Christine Calabrese , Feb 06, 2023, Amazon (US)

What a great book for children interested in sailing! The pages in the back give parents another chance to go over all the parts of a sailboat which is a nice touch. The structure of the story reminds me of that book where the woman eats a fly – at least for the first half of the book, each page repeats the previous one before adding a little more. Seems to be a great structure for helping new readers.

My 5 and a half year old daughter, Rory, says, “I love this book because it helps me learn about everything on a boat. And thank you for making this book. And I don’t know how to do this kind of work. And you’re very good at it. And I wonder how you have done this. And I love your creation. And I love you. I like this book and you should do a specific kind of one of these books. And I wonder where you learned it. Maybe from your mom. And it couldn’t be easy to do this. The end. And I need to tell you something. And I love this book too. And have a good rest of your life. The end. The end. And I need to tell you something. That means you’re so sweet. And you’re sweeter than cookies and milk. And I love you more than anything.”

I am no expert on sailing, but this seems like a book all adult sailors should gift to the children in their lives.

Joe Gonzalez, Jan 25, 2023

A sailing book, well done! – on By Kimberly Hirsch (Jan 18, 2023)

Adorable story, amazing illustrations and highly educational. The repetition and bold vocabulary, and glossary are perfectly placed. These features help little readers understand new terms and concepts. I love that the main character is female. Very well thought book and great for aspiring sailors!

This was a fun and spectacular read. The author did such an incredible job of crafting a narrative for children that was both entertaining and educational. The contrast of the warmth of the boat and captain in the imagery to the coolness of the ocean and environment itself in the illustrations really did a great job of drawing the reader into the narrative further.

Yet it was the author’s writing style that really captured my attention. The simple yet powerful story of adventure that came to life on the pages as a young girl became the captain of her own boat, sailing on the high seas and exploring the oceans was inspiring to read. The use of repetition, rhythm and even glossary terms for the educational purposes of learning about boating and the ocean as a whole was perfectly layered into the overall narrative.

Kimberly Hirsch, Jan 18, 2023, Amazon (US)

I’ve been sailing a few times and have always found it a relaxing experience. I’m blessed with a strong stomach so have never been bothered with seasickness, however the rest of my family go green at the sight of the sea so it’s never been an activity I can share with them! We’ll just have to stick to reading ‘A Big Blue Boat’!

‘A Big Blue Boat’ is a cumulative rhyming story about a brave young captain who sails a big blue boat. My daughter absolutely loves these type of stories where the rhythm and rhyme builds with each turn of the page, and this book is no different. ‘A Big Blue Boat’ was a finalist at the Page Turner awards, is a delight to read and the illustrations contained within are absolutely charming – kids will love it. In short – this is highly recommended!

littletinybookworm, Instagram

Cool

I really liked it. Nice illustrations and short sentences, which are also suitable for the very little ones as a good night story. Very creative and entertaining. Highly recommended.

Ava H, September 5, 2022 Amazon (de)

Anthony Avina, Goodreads June 26, 2022

‘I just read your book. Oh my gosh!!! It is absolutely wonderful.

I haven’t seen illustrations like this before. There is something about them that makes them so different.

The colors and brightness and fluidity make the book feel alive.

I am not normally one that goes for sure bright primary and secondary colors, but now your book has given me a new love for them.

Your story is just so thrilling and perfect for young readers because by reading the same paragraph with one new action added to it, I can see how that would really help with their reading education.

I love that the captain is a girl and she is so cute and charming…’

Jewel Hart, Chick Lit Cafe

What a gorgeous, lyrical story! This book is a must have for any young child who has their sights set on sailing. It is a cumulative story that allows for predictability and thereby helps young kids to read/follow along. Spray’s use of language (including rhythm, repetition and onomatopoeia) is beautifully executed and help to make this story shine. The illustrator has also done a brilliant job of really bringing the boat and the sea to life – the vibrant, bold illustrations are sure to delight children. The glossary and info-page at the end is an added bonus. Really lovely book.

Sharara, April 14, 2022

A Big Blue Boat is a whimsical picture book for pre-schoolers and early readers about a girl captain setting sail. It starts by describing parts of the beautiful blue boat. Next, children learn about the sails, mast, wheel, rudder, and anchor as the story flows from one page to another, adding a new line and fact with each page. Each page gives kids a new vocabulary word that is highlighted in bold letters and color.

The story is told in a repeating rhyme style that will have children singing along with the story as the adventure grows. I love this approach to children’s books as it helps them retain information by repeating things. The end of the book includes a glossary of terms the author has used in this engaging story. After the glossary is a quiz to name the different parts of the boat. The continued repetition of terms is a great educational resource.

Author Susea Spray has created a fun and educational story that will have children learning all about boats and sailing as they move through the pages. Illustrator Lesley Cybulka has captured the exhilarating experience of sailing in her art with bold colors and captivating images. From the captain to the dolphins, each image in this children’s book is clearly drawn with a love for the sea and a desire to capture the magic of dreaming.

A Big Blue Boat is an adventurous picture book for preschool, kindergarten, and early readers about a young girl sailing her boat. It portrays a strong girl as the captain, which shows that girls can captain boats and go on adventures by themselves. This is a great children’s book for teachers and parents to use to teach about sailing, the parts of a boat, and that it is okay to dream big.

Literary Titan, April 11th, 2022

This picture book is based on Gratis, the sailing yacht that its author and her husband sailed from Adelaide to Europe. It is dedicated to ‘little girls who want to sail.’ The story begins with a close-up of the blue boat with ‘billowing sales’ and ‘a towering mast that touches the sky’ and proceeds, with rollicking rhythmic, repetitive sentences that describe aspects of the boat (such as wheel, rudder, anchor and ‘a (girl) captain as brave as brave can be.’) It then segues with the boat moving into a bay ‘where shimmering dolphins jive and dive’, and sails into a ‘shore on the rollicking, frolicking sea.’ Once the boat is anchored, the captain ‘nods off to sleep in her cosy soft bed,’ dreaming of the boat.

The poetic and repetitive prose of this cumulative picture book is ideal for reading aloud. It is illustrated by bold, strong pictures which are painted in full, bright colours. At the end of the book is a double page spread with a glossary for words such as ‘rudder,’ ‘wheel’, ‘anchor,’ etc. On the final double-page is a black and white line illustration, ideal for the reader to colour in with pencils, texta, or paint.

One suspects that a child aged from 4+ years will enjoy having the story read aloud to them, while they follow the illustrations of ‘Gratis’ which is depicted from numerous perspectives.

Dianne Bates for Buzz Words Magazine

Go on an adventure without leaving home

A Big Blue Boat takes the reader on a high seas journey in a sailboat. The author uses nautical terms throughout which are defined in a glossary at the end. The use of repetition in the story serves two important purposes. First, it serves as a great tool to help pre-readers and early-readers learn language, but it also sets a tone throughout the book that reminds you of the gentle sway of ocean waves. And as a final note, I absolutely LOVE that the captain of this sailboat is a female.

All in all, A Big Blue Boat is a must have for the lovers of all things nautical in your life! I highly recommend.

Jackie Nix, Author, March 7, 2022, Amazon (US)

‘My daughter (aged 3) and I attended your reading a few weeks ago. At the time I was drawn to the musicality of the book and the beautiful illustrations.

We bought a copy on the day. It has since become a favourite bedtime story. My daughter must pick up on the musicality too, as she asks me to “Sing the words” and not “read the book” as would be her normal request. It’s not the best choice for a bedtime story however as she can’t help but mime the story or dance about!

Thanks for the lovely story.’

Jennie,Parent March 2022

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