A small rhinoceros dreams of seeing the world but none of the other rhinos can understand why she wants to leave since they have "mud and grass and trees . . . everything a rhinoceros could possibly need." The small rhinoceros doesn't waste time arguing but instead just gets on with preparing for her big trip. When she returns she tells the rhinos of all the fantastic things she saw. Most of them are not interested but an even smaller rhinoceros has a question "Was it . . . wonderful?"
This book perfectly illustrates the way pictures and text can work together to make a book that is greater than the sum of its parts. While the text has the small rhinoceros agreeing with everything the other, home-loving rhinos say, the pictures show her gradually collecting everything she needs for her adventure. The author, Meg McKinlay, author of the humorous book No Bears, shows her more lyrical side in this book with lines such as "through the woolly wild of winter and the smooth sweep of summer to faraway lands and beyond. The art work by Leila Rudge is also well worth savouring. It is in mixed media - mostly coloured pencil but also using water colour and the occasional snippet of collage to add texture. The amount of emotion she can convey with her seemingly simply drawn rhinos is amazing. This picture book will be a little long for young children but older, adventure-loving preschoolers will love little rhino and the book is ideal to introduce topics such as individuality, courage and the importance of not following the crowd. ( )