HERBERT - The Brave Sea Dog
Robyn Belton – Craig Potton Publishing - $29.99

Dunedin-based Robyn Belton has previously won the Russell Clark Award, NZ Post Children’s Book of the Year, Art Council Toi Aotearoa Award and the Margaret Mahy Award for her children’s books and you can safely put your bottom dollar on her new book picking up a slew of further awards next year.

Belton is one of our finest children’s book illustrators, I put her up there with Gavin Bishop, Elizabeth Fuller, Chris Gaskin and Martin Baynton.
In her new book, a true, heartwarming story, she is at the very top of her game with her quite exquisite art beautifully complementing her text.

Herbert was a small dog who lived on the coast in Nelson. Everybody loved him, but the person who loved him the most was his owner, Tim. One fine day an excited Herbert set off on a boat with Tim’s father, heading for the Marlborough Sounds. However what no one knew was that the weather would soon turn rough and Herbert would be thrown into the biggest adventure of his life.
This is the first children’s book to come from Craig Potton Publishing and my what a start it represents. A beautifully bound hardback picture book with wonderful endpapers enclosing a very special story.

Congratulations to the author/illustrator and her publisher. HERBERT is my pick for picture book of the year in the NZ Post Book Awards next year..

Map, left, is part of the front endpapers.

Photo left by Colin Smith for the Nelson Mail shows the author with Roger Sonneland and Tim Snadden who both feature in the book.

Postscript - As at 10 December '08 HERBERT has sold over 7000 copies and the publishers have just ordered a second reprint. The Bookman is not at all surprised.