It is nearly Christmas, the time of year when being helpful and kind is even more prevalent. During the ongoing national and local lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic we were introduced to some really remarkable people like Captain Sir Tom Moore and Marcus Rashford who went, and still are, going above and beyond to help people. But we were also introduced to a special and magical creature that “comes to roam while everybody stays at home” – Covi, the little green dinosaur.
Covi, the little green dinosaur is the brainchild of author Susie Cullen and features a small green kind and helpful dinosaur called Covi, with the books set in the lockdown period. Now for Christmas Covi is back, especially as the world is still experiencing lockdowns and Santa Claus will need some help.
Covi is a little green dinosaur who came to help the children when the world was locked down. Helpful, kind, fun and courageous – little Covi may be small, but he has a HUGE spirit!
Covi, the little Christmas dinosaur tells the tale of the locked-down Christmas of 2020 when the pandemic prevented Santa Claus from making his rounds. The helpful little dinosaur stepped in to save the day and Christmas was saved!
And in the third instalment of the Covi books is a very special guest (apart from the Big Man himself, Santa), a brave little seven-year-old girl who survived meningitis: Harmonie-Rose Allen.
Covi, the little Christmas dinosaur is a charming picture book for the COVID lockdown period that children will relate to. With lockdowns happening around the world, Santa is also in lockdown – a disaster for the children of the world, how are they going to receive their Christmas gifts? The children have been good all year with washing their hands, following social distancing rules and not seeing their friends or extended families. Santa hears of a very helpful dinosaur who may hold the answer to his problems and reaches out to him. Covi loves to help people and readily agrees to go to the North Pole and deliver all the presents for Santa.
This book is very charming. With lockdowns forcing families to stay at home and school closures disrupting education this book has a very inspirational message of kindness and helping others, and shows that with kindness, selflessness, hope and determination we can get through the worst of times.
It also features a courageous little girl, seven-year-old Harmonie-Rose Allen, of Bath who as a baby contracted meningococcal septicaemia (meningitis). This horrible disease gave her a 10% chance of survival, which she fought and survived but with the loss of her arms and legs. But it hasn’t slowed her down, with the help of prosthetic legs she loves jumping and skipping and even completed a half-marathon in her home city when she was just five – how cool and inspirational is that? The story shows that differences like having different limbs as Covi and Harmonie-Rose do, it doesn’t have to hold you back and you can achieve anything that you want (Harmonie-Rose is now a Paralympic gymnast, international superstar and the first junior ambassador for charity Meningitis Now. 50p from every copy of this book sold will be donated to Harmonie-Rose’s charity of choice.
Alongside the story of Covi helping Santa are references to keeping the world clean and the overuse of plastics. This is a very good introduction to young readers on environmental issues and plastic use.
The story by Susie Cullen is very easy to read. It is written in rhyme and is very hard not to read it aloud – whether you are an adult or child. It is very engaging and simple to understand for the young readers or listeners, and is very relevant with the ongoing COVID situation, and might even relay children’s fears about Santa’s Christmas Eve exploits and present deliveries if he is still in lockdown.
As for the illustrations, Chay Winter has done an excellent job of illustrating the story to portray what is happening. The full-page illustrations are bright and appealing.
Covi, the little Christmas dinosaur is an engaging and charming story that is perfect for Christmas, showing the kindness and helpfulness of others.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £9.99 (Paperback) / £3.99 (Kindle)
Available to buy from Amazon here.
