Spiggie: The Story of a Puffin is a delightful children’s story, written by Maureen Bartlett and illustrated by Sally Milne, and is the story of family and also of encouragement.

I read the book with my grandson, who adored the story and loved the bright and colourful illustrations.

We – as readers - watch as Spiggie grows from a Puffin unsure of himself, to a Puffin who does the best he can. Throughout the book, Spiggie’s family encourage the little Puffin to do his best.

I did find it rather disappointing that the first time Spiggie attempted something, he achieved it. We learn from our failures, and often come back better and stronger. I would have preferred to see this shown through the story.

The Great Trip North is referenced several times during the story, but not once is the term explained. This interrupted the flow of the story as I had to stop and explain it in the midst of reading.

Despite these issues, Spiggie: The Story of a Puffin is a good book. It shows children that trying their best is important.

The book contains a lot of text, so I do recommend reading the story with the child unless their reading is of an advanced level. My eight-year-old grandson had no problems, but his just-turned-seven sister, who is at a much lower reading level, could not cope with this at all.

I found the story good for discussion afterward, and we talked about Spiggie doing his very best.