Augustus and His Smile

Augustus the tiger has lost his smile and sets out on a journey to find it. He searches through jungles, mountains, and other landscapes looking for his missing happiness. The illustrations use watercolor and ink to depict Augustus's movement through different environments. The artwork emphasizes the tiger's graceful physicality as he runs, swims, and climbs. The story explores themes of inner joy and the discovery that happiness often comes from within rather than external searches. Through Augustus's quest, young readers encounter ideas about resilience and self-discovery in an accessible way.

Readers appreciate the watercolor illustrations and loose, expressive art style that captures Augustus the tiger's movements and emotions. Parents note the book works well for bedtime reading with children ages 2-6. Specific praise focuses on: - Teaching children to find happiness in small things - Simple but engaging storyline - Quality of paper and printing - Educational value in identifying where Augustus looks for his smile Common criticisms: - Text feels sparse compared to illustrations - Story may be too basic for older kids - Some find the ending predictable Ratings: Goodreads: 4.0/5 (402 ratings) Amazon UK: 4.7/5 (279 ratings) Amazon US: 4.4/5 (31 ratings) "The artwork alone makes this book worth having," notes one Amazon reviewer. A Goodreads parent commented, "My 3-year-old asks for this nightly and points out all the places Augustus searches." Some teachers report using it successfully for classroom discussions about emotions and self-discovery.

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🐯 Author Catherine Rayner created Augustus while she was still a student at Edinburgh College of Art 🎨 The book's illustrations were made using water-soluble ink, which gives Augustus his distinctive textured appearance 🏆 Augustus and His Smile won the 2006 Booktrust Early Years Award for Best New Illustrator 🌍 Tigers like Augustus can swim up to 6 kilometers and are excellent swimmers, unlike most other big cats 🖼️ The original artwork for the book was created at a much larger scale than the printed version - approximately five times bigger