REVIEW
THE BIG BOOK OF BLOBS
by Pip Wilson and lan Long
Having known the Blobs for many years, I was still surprised to read that they first made their appearance in the Blob Tree over twenty years ago.
Classically used as an ice breaker in many group settings, the Blob Tree is a wonderful tool in both individual and group work.
A delightfully creative way to encourage and promote discussion; the loveable Blobs engage children, young people and adults alike and before long meaningful discussions are taking place.
As a practitioner they have proved invaluable in engaging others, less willing to talk about feelings, to speculate about what these and ambiguous Blobs might be up to or may be feeling;
as a human being they are simply intriguing.
Each Blob can be attributed different circumstances every time you see them, dependant on your own moods and emotions at any given time.
The Big Book Of Blobs in its second edition, is like looking at an old friends family photo album; finding Blobs in all manner of situations, circumstances and frames of mind.
With more than fifty scenes packed full of Blobs handily divided into sections like places. issues, occasion's and personal development.
I can't wait to get using them to discover how others put their perspectives on what the Blobs are doing. Asking questions about the images will encourage your group or individual to say. what the Blob is thinking, feeling or doing or can be put in such a way for group members to speculate what others in the group may think, by asking which Blob best represents them, your group's responses might enable you to gauge current feelings, hopes and fears.
This book provides a whole toolbox full of resources to start discussions over a huge range of subjects.
It will enable the discussion to be better focused and in more depth.
With notes and suggestions for questions to ask to initiate the sharing of opinions, the book is accessible to newcomers to the Blobs as it is to those who have used other Blobs resources in the past.
Both authors come from a background of youth work, teaching and group work, so know what it takes to engage groups, and have won many accolades for their imaginative use of Blobs.
lan Long's illustrations come with permission to photocopy so that copies can be written on or marked as to how individuals feel one session and can be compared to reactions to the same image and question at a later session. enabling patterns and progress to be observed.
With the book comes a CD with the entire book in pdf format for ease of preparation of sessions and printing of the illustrations, this is definitely a book of the twenty first century.
Review by Norman Cooper
THE BIG BOOK OF BLOBS
Barnardo's Family worker
by Pip Wilson and lan Long
Speechmark ISBN 978-0-86388-722-2
