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When Laura Maw was a child, her favourite activities were going to the ocean and picking out another stack of books from the library. She loved reading from a very young age and could never seem to satisfy her craving for another new adventure, another new imagination landscape. Writing is a passion that seemed to come naturally with her love of reading. She too wanted to be able to help someone through a bad day, or to have a unique and thrilling experience on a good day, through the written communication of a story. She has a very vivid imagination that often takes her on wondrous adventures in her dreams. In fact, the idea for Bubba’s Balloon came to her in the form of a very funny dream. She woke up laughing and felt that it was a story that must be shared with others. The character of Ollie was even developed through daydreaming about Bubba’s adventures.
Laura Maw has a B.A. Honours Degree in Mass Communication with a Minor in Psychology and a Minor in Philosophy from Carleton University. Currently, she lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and Tuxedo kitty. She has also lived in Ontario and her childhood was in Nova Scotia. Laura feels truly blessed to have lived on both of Canada’s beautiful coasts.
Reviewed by Jane Finch for Readers' Favorite
Ollie the Orca (Bubba and Buddies TM), written by Laura Maw and with artwork by Mike Motz, is the story of a dolphin called Bubba who is casually swimming around when he hears a strange noise and goes to investigate. He comes across Ollie the Orca stuck behind some netting used by fishermen. Bubba calls on his friend Sammy the seagull, who is in the middle of his dinner, but when he hears his friend calling he hurries to see what is happening. Sammy devises a clever way to free Ollie. Sammy suggests that in future Ollie and Bubba go on their adventures together so they can help each other if they get stuck again.
This is a delightful story by Laura Maw about helping one another. It’s about the importance of friendship and explains what friendship really means by being able to call on one another. It’s also about teamwork as Ollie, Bubba and Sammy all had to work together to make sure they saved Ollie from being trapped by the net. The lovely artwork is colourful and eye-catching and will keep a young reader turning the pages as the story unfolds. This is an ideal book for a parent to read to a child and explain the elements of friendship and not being afraid to ask for help. It’s also a book that would be ideal in a nursery where a grown-up can read the story to children, show them the pictures, and discuss with them how much Ollie needed to find a friend to help him.
