Tom Percival is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors. This is another brilliant offering from him, with an overarching message to be yourself, with wonderful pictures to engage young readers.

Cute story about finding your talent, friends, and connecting with others.

Mole sees the birds flying one day and wishes he could do that too. But a wise owl reminds him "just be who you are.. THAT'S the key!". Realising his talent is digging, Mole hurriedly gets starting on making the biggest hole EVER! But that seems to upset lots of other animals and gets in the way of their own talents and activities.

Will Mole be able to put things right and use his talent for good?

Percival here composes a very sweet rhyming story that was a pleasure to read loud. The moral of the story is adorable too, very obvious for even small children that a Mole will not be able to fly, but it's very satisfying in the way that the earlier events are knitted together at the end and friends are also made. Awww.

I wouldn't have recognised this as one of Percival's as he's not illustrated this himself as he usually does. I don't know why, as he's a very talented artist from the several picture books we've seen. However, Christine Pym has created a very cute little world for Mole and his friends, with lemon sunrises, big-eyed animals , adorably shaped underground burrows!

A great reminder to children about finding their own special talents, and about the importance of friends and helping each other with one's own natural skills.

For ages 2-5.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

‘She’d made people sad and that wasn’t her goal’

I read this book with my daughter and she really enjoyed it. The first read through we were interested in all the British wildlife characters in addition to mole. Hedgehogs, foxes, squirrels, rabbits and more all with their own unique characters explored in a small amount of words but with great detail to the reader.

The female character mole is trying to find her special skill, and although this is a well explored plot of many picture books, this is a quirky, funny and exciting story. The plot is detailed enough not to be immediately memorable so it can be enjoyed again and again. Indeed, my daughter wanted me to read it three times to her, which must mean that she liked it!

The illustrations in this book are beautiful with added detail so children can spot more goings on than the text describes. We loved the underground scene page depicting all the burrows and Mole has a fantastic pink nose with delightful whiskers!

This book would be a fantastic gift and addition to a bookshelf. Great for a bedtime read or even for children to enjoy by themselves. I can imagine my daughter pouring over the pictures for some time to come.

Little Mole is desperate to find something she’s good at. She’s watched birds flying, grasshoppers leaping and squirrels climbing and feels incredibly sad that she can’t do any of those things. Suddenly, she has a bright idea – she’s going to dig the biggest hole there has even been! Unfortunately, all doesn’t quite go to plan and she soon starts to feel even more useless than she did before. But, of course, everyone has something special to give to the world, sometimes it just takes a little bit of time (and a few false starts) to find it!

This uplifting rhyming tale of friendship and triumph over adversity is a great story to read aloud. The illustrations have a real spring vibe, with blue skies, colourful flowers and a bright colour palette. Little Mole is a sweet character, trying her best in everything she does, but things just don’t go to plan. Wee Reader loves to study all her underground tunnels to work out exactly where she’s gone wrong and who she has bumped into down there. He also enjoys deciphering cause and effect, looking at how one all of Little Mole’s actions create the brilliant ending.

As a child at primary school I clearly remember how frustrating I found it how my friends excelled at sports and I was the easily the slowest and least talented runner in my class (incidentally, nothing has changed there!). If only I’d realised that it didn’t really matter, and that my strengths lay in other areas. I try to regularly remind my children, particularly in their moments of frustration, that we can’t all have the same talents and we’re all good at doing different things. Reading this book is the perfect reminder.

Oh my! Just look at that gorgeous inky blue cover... isn't it divine? And what greats you inside the cover is equally gorgeous. Come and meet mole, the creation of Tom Percival and Christine Pym...

Mole is feeling a little sad, as she watched all the animals flying, swimming and leaping, oh how she wished she could do something too. A wise owl (they are always so wise), give her some sound advice...

"Mole tried to dream big, but her thoughts were a blur.

Nothing she dreamt up felt quite right for her."

After a few failed attempts it suddenly dawns on Mole that digging is her thing. BRILLIANT! She sets off to dig the biggest hole ever!! But. There are more than a few mishaps on the way - poor fox, poor hedgehog.

Will Mole's hole ever work?

A chat with otter sets her on the right track, but you'll have to read the rest yourself to see how it unfolds.

I adore the plethora of animals integrated into the story. Each one with their own little backstory. And I LOVED how Christine depicts both fox and rabbit's homes. Adorable!!

Dream Big, Little Mole is an utterly charming and perfectly cosy picture book about perseverance, friendship and finding your own special place in the world.


Emma Perry, Picture book author & founder of MyBookCorner

A sweet picture book with a warm, gentle message about finding your own special talent and persevering despite setbacks. The illustrations are lovely too.

An utterly charming book with such a loveable character in Mole. Young children and all the young at heart will love this gentle, beautifully illustrated story which will help teach and remind how everyone has their own talents and everyone can dream. I think this book should be on every bookshelf and read regularly
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a lovely time reading a adorable book.

I love everything about this book! The illustrations, the colour palette and the story, are all perfect! It will teach children that being themselves is the most important thing and making mistakes is not that bad! I'd love to read more from Percival.

Little Mole is sad. All of the other animals seem to have an exciting, special skill. When she sets out to build the biggest hole ever, she sets off a chain of events which reveals her own, unexpected skill.

This is a very sweet picture book about accepting who you are, and appreciating your own skills without comparing yourself to others. Lots of children will relate to Little Mole's frustrations.

The story has a gentle rhyme scheme and is enjoyable to read aloud.

Pym's artwork is gentle and sweet, with lovely springtime colours and backgrounds teeming with flowers and life. There are also some very funny moments, and a great cast of characters to enjoy.

Dream Big, Little Mole is written by Tom Percival and illustrated by Christine Pym

Lovely rhyming book with a positive message for little readers.
Beautiful illustrations.
A winner in our household.

Another sweet book about friendship from Tom Perceval. This one is based on animals, which might make it slightly less relatable than his big bright feelings books, but the cast of characters is very cute. The fox, rabbit etc all have problems, that end up being solved by mole, as she keeps on digging. The message is about valuing what you are good at. The illustrations are delightful, especially the cut away underground ones, which reminded me a bit of Oliver Jeffers, and it's written in a lovely flowing rhyme. Suitable for any children up to 8 or 9.

What an absolutely delightful book with stunning illustrations for young readers! It is well written with a positive message of always being yourself.

I really enjoyed reading Dream Big, Little Mole and would recommend to friends with young children.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely rhyming story about a little mole trying to do his best. This book teaches that we should always try our best, play to our strengths and help our friends. The illustrations are lovely and in beautiful colours.

I read this with my almost 4 year old and we both enjoyed it. It’s one that we’d read again and I think it will still be suitable for his age for some time to come.

I thought that this book was gorgeous.

It is well written, flows really well, it has some fabulous characters and the most wonderful illustrations.

It is 5 stars from me for this one, I read this with my daughter and we both loved it

Very highly recommended!

Big thanks to Bloomsbury Children's Books and Netgalley for allowing us to see an advance copy of this cute new picture book!
The book tells the story of Little Mole who wishes that she could do what the other animals can do, flying high like the birds, leaping like grasshopper or climbing like squirrel. She is beginning to think that she isn't as good as the other animals but then Owl gives her some good advice.... "Just be who you are," said the owl. "THAT'S the key!" "Dream BIG, Little Mole. Be brilliant. Be YOU!"
After having a long think, Little Mole realises that she does have a talent - DIGGING! Little Mole decides that she will build the biggest hole ever.
While digging her tunnel, she causes a few problems along the way. She meets more animals who all have special gifts to give the world and it makes her doubt her own special skills. Just when you think that she is about to give up on her dream, something wonderful happens that brings all the animals together and shows everyone and Mole just how special she really is.
This is a brilliant rhyming story about finding your own unique talent and not giving up! The illustrations by Christine Pym really are fabulous. She has created lovely scenes and captures the animals expressions and moods so well. This will make a lovely story to share as a family that will have everyone feeling happy!

An absolutely gorgeous book. I loved the rhyming text and the delightful illustrations. Mole sees the other animals and wants to be like them. The wise owl, however, encourages him to be himself. Mole realises that his talent is digging but wherever he digs, he seems to irritate one of the other animals, until a stroke of bad luck actually brings about unintentional fortunate outcomes.

A lovely book which has positive messages about being yourself and using your own talents. A great one for primary school assemblies.

It's been a year of bad luck and it seems Mole is experiencing the same in her story about dreaming big. But, pay attention to Mole's message and hold on to those dreams because bad luck can turn good...

Mole is downhearted when she sees lots of animals doing what she can't. But when Owl tells Mole to focus on her own gifts, she starts to dream big. Nothing goes to plan, however, when her efforts bring nothing but bad luck and trouble. Soon, no one is happy with Mole. Can she ever put things right?

Tom Percival's new release is a wonderfully gentle rhyming story with BEAUTIFUL illustrations by Christine Pym. The story is uplifting and Mole is completely endearing as she embarks on her big dream to impress. The rhyme bounces along at a fantastic pace and the subtle humour makes for lots of smiley moments.

Mole's journey is chock full of glorious animal characters, all of which you might expect to find on a British nature walk. The characters and setting have a traditional but charming feel and although it is not the most original of picture books in terms of message and plot, the vibrancy of the rhyme and the illustrations, coupled with the humorous twist at the end makes it feel fresh and inviting.

The message of Mole's story is an important one for us all, including little readers. Be yourself, dream big and don't give up. And, when things go wrong, take a deep breath and carry on, for who knows where your journey could lead. Perhaps it may not be what you are expecting, but...hang about, it could be BETTER!

This book has all the ingredients for a great bedtime read; a hopeful message, charming characters and delightful rhyme and rhythm. It's funny, it's cute and it's inspiring. Bring on 2021!

A big thank you to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for allowing us a chance to review.

Absolutely gorgeous book, beautifully illustrated with a Big message, I loved this myself as an adult , a lovely message to remember being yourself and bringing friends together, a lovely and important message to read to children and to share with adults. Beautiful, thoroughly recommended at any age

Read this book to my 4 year old son and he loved it. Great book about never giving up on your dreams and achieving them. The illustrations are beautiful and the story goes through the mole trying but failing and making his friends upset but getting wise words from the ‘older’ animals in the story.

Couldn’t recommend this book enough and will definitely be a regular bedtime story we will be reading!

This is a gorgeous little story about how you can turn bad luck into something beautiful. Little Mole wishes she could fly like the birds or swim like the ducks, until she meets owl who tells her that the best thing she can do is dream big and be herself. Little Mole is inspired, and decides her skill is to dig the biggest hole ever. But as she begins to dig deeper and deeper she accidentally causes a few problems for some of the other animals. Feeling sad, Little Mole wonders if she should give up. Luckily a kind (and tuneful!) Otter wills her to keep going, and it leads to something wonderful.
This is a lovely, rhyming picture book by the brilliant Tom Percival, who captures Mole's thoughts and feelings beautifully, giving little readers the encouragement to keep going when things get tough and to believe in themselves. Tom's words are perfectly matched with Christine Pym's uplifting and colourful illustrations which feel like Spring has come alive on the pages. A wonderful and hopeful picture book.