Gilbert the Great - Tapa dura

'From the time Gilbert the Great White Shark was a tiny pup, Raymond the Remora stuck to him like glue. Raymond was always on Gilbert's side.' Then one day, Gilbert wakes up to discover that Raymond has gone. Mrs Munch does everything she can to help her little shark come to terms with his loss and - slowly but surely - Gilbert learns to smile a wobbly smile through his sadness. He knows that Raymond will always be in his heart and, when mum takes Gilbert to the wreck, a chance meeting helps him find happiness once more. Jane Clarke's heart-warming story, exquisitely illustrated by Charles Fuge, is funny and sad in equal measure. Gilbert the Great will touch anyone who has experienced the pain of losing a friend or the joy of making a new one.

Jane is a regular contributor to poetry anthologies for children and is the author of numerous delightful picture books. She spent many happy years in the Netherlands working as a library assistant at an International School. Now Jane lives in Kent with her two sons and two Labradors. Charles Fuge made his picture book debut with BUSHVARK'S FIRST DAY OUT, which won both the Macmillan Prize and the Mother Goose Award. Since then he has illustrated more than thirty picture books, including SOMETIMES I LIKE TO CURL UP IN A BALL, which was highly commended by the judges of the 2001 Kate Greenaway Medal. He lives in Dorset.