Specs for Rex

Rex doesn't like his new glasses. They are big and round and red and he's embarrassed to wear them at school, in case people laugh at him. Rex tries to hide them under his hair and inside his sandwich, he covers them with paint and even wraps toilet paper around his face, but it's no use. He is going to have to learn to love his specs.

Then to his surprise he gets a gold star for finding something that no one else could and a new friend says she wants some glasses too - and Rex realises perhaps he doesn't have to hide his new glasses away after all.

The simple text will undoubtedly prove handy when encouraging small children to embrace their need for glasses. However, this delightful picture book is far more than a simple advertisement for glasses. Ismail's bright painterly illustrations are full of life and have a wonderfully young appeal with their visible technique and textures.

Rex himself is an adorable character - we love his wild mane and we certainly think his specs are fabulous! Each spread is a fantastic frenzy of colour and seems to capture the messy explosion of colour involved in being this age. All in all, it's a perfectly judged story and visual treat that fills an important gap and yet has wide universal appeal.