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Rolie Polie Olie
Big Time Olie
"I'm a little bit bigger, not a little bit smaller. I'm a little bit taller—I'm growing Rolie up!" If Rolie Polie Olie grows a little every day, when will he be big enough?
40 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2006
1 person is currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
William Joyce
165 books1,495 followersWilliam Joyce does a lot of stuff—films, apps, Olympic curling—but children’s books are his true bailiwick (The Numberlys, The Man in the Moon, Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, Toothiana, and the #1 New York Times bestselling The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, which is also an Academy Award–winning short film, to name a few). He lives with his family in Shreveport, Louisiana.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 30, 2018
That little robot Rolie Polie Olie returns in this fourth picture-book devoted to his adventures, this time getting himself into a bit of trouble, when he decides that he isn't the right size. Considered too small to accompany his parents on a trip, but too big to jump on the bed, Olie uses the shrink-and-grow-a-later to alter his size, first shrinking himself, and then making himself into a giant. Predictably, these changes don't really help him to feel much better...
Originally published in 2002 and then reprinted this year (2018) in this new edition, Big Time Olie is the fourth and thus far last full-sized picture-book about this round little robot and his happy-go-lucky world, although there have also been some board books, as well as an animated television show. Of the four picture-books, I think that it is the weakest. The narrative doesn't quite work for me, perhaps because it is missing that bouncy feeling I got from the first three books. Of course, this series in general isn't my favorite, of William Joyce's work - I prefer the Guardians of Childhood books, and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - but even so, this one just fell flat for me. Still, tastes vary, and I suspect that enthusiastic fans of the Rolie Polie Olie franchise will enjoy this one.
Originally published in 2002 and then reprinted this year (2018) in this new edition, Big Time Olie is the fourth and thus far last full-sized picture-book about this round little robot and his happy-go-lucky world, although there have also been some board books, as well as an animated television show. Of the four picture-books, I think that it is the weakest. The narrative doesn't quite work for me, perhaps because it is missing that bouncy feeling I got from the first three books. Of course, this series in general isn't my favorite, of William Joyce's work - I prefer the Guardians of Childhood books, and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore - but even so, this one just fell flat for me. Still, tastes vary, and I suspect that enthusiastic fans of the Rolie Polie Olie franchise will enjoy this one.
December 3, 2012
The imagination William Joyce has is beyond amazing and every time I read one of his stories, I begin to feel like a child again. Rolie Polie Olie was on TV when I was growing up and I remember watching it and thinking that these places were real. Big Time Olie is another story that brings his imaginative thinking alive through a book. The illustrations are full of vivid colors and pull the reader right in with the colors. I am more interested in a story when it is full of color and bubbly characters. William Joyce is an excellent illustrator and knows what appeals to younger and even older audiences.
The storyline in Big Time Olie is imaginative and have a moral to the story, which is great for parents reading to their children. The overall theme of self-happiness helps give the story an overall lesson that can be learned in and out of the classroom. The imagined places, like Mount Big Ball and the Ice Cream Planet that Joyce creates in the story is always perfect idea for his younger audiences who have a huge imagination. Being yourself and happy is a great moral for any age to be reminded of and using these characters is an easy way to relay this to any generation. William Joyce is an author who understands the audience and wants to attract people through his imagination and use of illustrations, which is plainly see through Big Time Olie.
The storyline in Big Time Olie is imaginative and have a moral to the story, which is great for parents reading to their children. The overall theme of self-happiness helps give the story an overall lesson that can be learned in and out of the classroom. The imagined places, like Mount Big Ball and the Ice Cream Planet that Joyce creates in the story is always perfect idea for his younger audiences who have a huge imagination. Being yourself and happy is a great moral for any age to be reminded of and using these characters is an easy way to relay this to any generation. William Joyce is an author who understands the audience and wants to attract people through his imagination and use of illustrations, which is plainly see through Big Time Olie.
November 19, 2019
Big Time Olie by William Joyce. PICTURE BOOK. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2018. $18. 9781481489690
BUYING ADVISORY: PRE-K, EL(K-3)-ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
When Olie was too big to jump on the bed but too small for the ride at the amusement park he shouted in his biggest voice, “I’m not the right size for anything!” He then used the “shrink-and-grow-a-lator” to make himself smaller. That didn’t work! He used it again to make himself HUGE! That didn’t work out either. When he was finally back to his normal size he was very happy to be “just plain Olie!’
Joyce does a creative job helping readers of all ages find contentment in being “just the right size.” No matter their height, weight, their hair color, etc., this great book would be the perfect opening to a classroom or family discussion about liking the stage of life we currently experience. The colors are so bright and bold that readers will be drawn into the pages. Olie is beloved by many and this picture book will become a favorite of children and adults alike.
Reviewer: SL
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: PRE-K, EL(K-3)-ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
When Olie was too big to jump on the bed but too small for the ride at the amusement park he shouted in his biggest voice, “I’m not the right size for anything!” He then used the “shrink-and-grow-a-lator” to make himself smaller. That didn’t work! He used it again to make himself HUGE! That didn’t work out either. When he was finally back to his normal size he was very happy to be “just plain Olie!’
Joyce does a creative job helping readers of all ages find contentment in being “just the right size.” No matter their height, weight, their hair color, etc., this great book would be the perfect opening to a classroom or family discussion about liking the stage of life we currently experience. The colors are so bright and bold that readers will be drawn into the pages. Olie is beloved by many and this picture book will become a favorite of children and adults alike.
Reviewer: SL
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
February 20, 2014
A great book for preschoolers and younger. The illustrations are adorable and the simple language was easily repeatable my my 3 yr olds. No educational value except for reading and instilling the love of books in your child! Highly recommended for the smaller children.
May 6, 2024
This story is for children. The key topic is that it’s okay to grow up but not so fast. In this story, the rollie pollie, Olie, wanted to grow up faster because his parents said he was too little to go on a trip with them, so he used the shrink-and-grow-a-lator to help him grow faster. However, he grew too fast. At first he thought it was cool and he liked it but then he realized it had many problems coming with it. When his family finally got back then helped him reverse the machine and helped him become small again. I rate this story a 5/5 because it shows children that growing up might sound really fun but it has its bad parts coming with it.
November 20, 2018
Olie is having some trouble dealing with his medium size time of life- "too small" for this, "too big" for that. So he uses a button to make himself small, really small, and then big, really big; having fun until those sizes cause big problems! His parents rescue him and bring him back to his normal size- which he learns is "just right- for now."
(Adventure not over yet, look out the window!)
Lesson: Your "growing" up time of life is just where you are meant to be. Don't rush growing up- don't try to remain a baby- be who you are now.
(Adventure not over yet, look out the window!)
Lesson: Your "growing" up time of life is just where you are meant to be. Don't rush growing up- don't try to remain a baby- be who you are now.
January 21, 2019
Miss 4 thought it was okay but only wanted it read once.
Miss 4 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.
Miss 4 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.
April 2, 2019
This book is the classic story of wanting what you cannot have, receiving it, and then being disappointed. I enjoyed the illustrations in this book and I believe children will get drawn into the colorful pages. I enjoyed how the images were on one page and the text was on a separate page right beside it. This allows one to really focus on the illustrations and the text independently.
November 27, 2021
Rolie Polie Odie is never the right size! Somehow he is always too small or too tall for what he’d like to do. However, when he uses his shrink-and-grow-a-lator, it gets even worse. Poor Rolie learns an important lesson about how to be satisfied . . . just as you are!
June 22, 2017
My girls love Rolie. This one was sweet and well illustrated. It's not our favorite one but I would still recommend it.
February 21, 2019
A cute rolie polie adventure where Olie tries out a grow and shrink machine and finds out that his in between size is the size he's meant to be.
April 18, 2024
Cute story, but my favorite were the illustrations.
April 19, 2025
Rolie Polie Olie learns to appreciate his size. A nice story for kids who wish they were bigger.
July 23, 2013
William Joyce is my kind of guy. I just love a person with an incredible imagination and the determination to bring it to life.
Lesson Connections
Use in an author study about William Joyce. This book is a terrific example, when combined with another Joyce book, to demonstrate how a single author can write to several different audiences. I can think of several mini-lessons for this book. The first would be an awareness of your audience. The next few days you could compare a book by the same author and discuss similarities and differences based on intended audiences. The class could discuss the way that your own voice and style shows through regardless of whether you are writing an "easy" book or not. Which brings me to another lesson: this book is a perfect example of how difficult "easy" books are to write.
Lesson Connections
Use in an author study about William Joyce. This book is a terrific example, when combined with another Joyce book, to demonstrate how a single author can write to several different audiences. I can think of several mini-lessons for this book. The first would be an awareness of your audience. The next few days you could compare a book by the same author and discuss similarities and differences based on intended audiences. The class could discuss the way that your own voice and style shows through regardless of whether you are writing an "easy" book or not. Which brings me to another lesson: this book is a perfect example of how difficult "easy" books are to write.
June 19, 2012
Joyce, W. (2002). Big Time Olie. Laura Geringer Books.
Gr. K-3. Olie is not the right size for anything – too small to go Mount Big Ball, too big to jump on his bed. He takes matters into his own hands and tries the shrink-and-grow-a-lator, which sends him on adventures he is only too happy to come home from, and sleep in his just-the-right size bed.
Curriculum: Kids who feel they are not the right size will relate to Olie and learn from him that everyone is perfect just the way they are. This would also be a good book to talk about big vs. small (opposites). It could be used to talk about growing up and how growing up too fast is not good.
Reviews: School Library Journal (November 1, 2002), Kirkus Reviews (October 1, 2002), Booklist (October 1, 2002 (Vol. 99, No. 3))
Gr. K-3. Olie is not the right size for anything – too small to go Mount Big Ball, too big to jump on his bed. He takes matters into his own hands and tries the shrink-and-grow-a-lator, which sends him on adventures he is only too happy to come home from, and sleep in his just-the-right size bed.
Curriculum: Kids who feel they are not the right size will relate to Olie and learn from him that everyone is perfect just the way they are. This would also be a good book to talk about big vs. small (opposites). It could be used to talk about growing up and how growing up too fast is not good.
Reviews: School Library Journal (November 1, 2002), Kirkus Reviews (October 1, 2002), Booklist (October 1, 2002 (Vol. 99, No. 3))
July 26, 2008
We are HUGE fans of the Rolie Polie Olie cartoon (no longer on TV) at our house...but the books are bleh. The artwork is great - silly and vibrant, but the writing is substandard. The story lines are OK, but it just doesn't work. I usually do a lot of improvising when we "read" this book.
December 14, 2014
I'm a little bit bigger.
Don't make little bit smaller.
I'm a little bit taller.
I'm growing everybody up.
I'm a little bit bigger.
Don't make little bit smaller.
I'm a little bit taller.
I'm growing everybody up.
Don't make little bit smaller.
I'm a little bit taller.
I'm growing everybody up.
I'm a little bit bigger.
Don't make little bit smaller.
I'm a little bit taller.
I'm growing everybody up.
June 17, 2016
This book is a great book for children when they are in that in between stage where they are too little for some things, but are also too big for other things. The children love to repeat after me as we sing Olie's song. I love the illustrations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2016
Picture Book; Cute story of how Rolie feels he is not big enough or too big - just not the right size. He plays around with a machine that makes him very small and later very big. Cool illustrations. Gr. 1-3; Highly recommended.
March 26, 2012
As a child I couldn't wait to grow up. Neither can Olie...who manages to try out life in different sizes.
June 24, 2012
I love the illustrations in William Joyce's books!
May 3, 2024
Olie wants to be bigger, but he learns he is just the right size for now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews