My Good Friend, Ted! The Sea-quel in An Ocean of Colour
Cover Blurb
Join Ted, our favourite RED Blue Whale and grand protector of the ocean as he navigates true friendships in a heartfelt and meaningful story about kindness, respect, diversity, and acceptance. The story is written in rhyme and the illustrations are painted in vibrant and detailed watercolour.
Readers aged 7-9 in mind.
Book Two in the My Good Friend Ted! Series.
Other Titles By the Author
Robyn Gram-Barclay
Author Bio
Hi! My name is Robyn Gram-Barclay and I have been teaching the wonderful world of art to adults and children for 20 years. I am an award-winning artist, muralist, picture book author and illustrator. My artwork primarily focuses on my love for marine life, sunsets, and nature. I was deeply honoured with a commission to create and install an 8×8’ outdoor mural for a Reading Garden in a branch of the Caledon Public Library (Caledon, Ontario, Canada), on behalf of the Healthy Communities Initiative Grant from the Government of Canada, in June 2025. I am extremely proud to have published a picture book series known as “My Good Friend, Ted!” of which I both penned and illustrated. Having been previously published twice as an illustrator, I ventured into the world of becoming an author AND illustrator in 2019. The My Good Friend, Ted! series was inspired by my son, when he was a little boy, based on his affinity for the ocean and the creatures within. The books focus on Ted, a beautiful Blue Whale who is Red, and his ocean adventures. The themes within the stories include friendship, kindness, diversity, acceptance of differences, teamwork, and guiding awareness of the threats and dangers to marine life within our global waters.
I have received wonderful feedback from families and children of all ages, who thoroughly enjoy the fun rhyming format, heartfelt tales, and the vibrant and endearing watercolour images, which were all traditionally hand-drawn and painted. I have graciously been awarded the Purple Dragonfly Book Award, Story Monsters Approved Award, Moms Choice Award, and Ella’s Way Gold Award for Recognizing Kindness, as well as an Honourable Mention Book Dragon Award! These are most incredible achievements in children’s literature and exciting recognition and acknowledgement! I am thrilled to be a Sponsor and Partner of the world-renowned SAVE the WHALES™, whose mission is to help preserve and protect our oceans and magnificent marine life. A portion of each book sale is donated back to the organization to also help further their educational programming.
I am a member of the International Author’s Collaborative through the Ella’s Way charity. Ella’s Way donates picture books to caregivers, schools, libraries, and health institutions to aid in guiding children through difficult and sensitive topics which include diversity, inclusion, kindness, and disabilities, as children begin to form lifelong friendships. Come join Ted and his friends in their ocean adventures while being educated and enlightened about significant topics children of all ages should take to heart. I reside in Bolton, Ontario, Canada with my family, a cat, and a plethora of fish!
The Book Tour
Day 1 - Favourite Quotes
Day 2 - Character Summaries
Ted is my favourite character of course. As the main character, he shows growth by dealing with the bullies - and getting them to change their minds. His focus on his friends and his difference being a good thing is definitely role model behaviour - after all, we are all different! We can all sympathise with Ted. - Yvonne Marrs
For very obvious reasons, Ted stands out as a memorable character. Not only is he a red Blue Whale, but he is also the friendliest, kindest, wisest marine animal in the story. He has lots of friends, but as is so often the case, he is shunned by his own kind – because of his colour. Although this makes Ted sad, with the help of his friends, he doesn’t allow this to get him down, and in fact, he is able to help the Blue Whales see that his colour is splendid after all. - Phoebe Wilby
It is easy to connect Ted; the story is about his journey and desire to be part of a group. He is a red whale and that is the source of problems in the story. Yet, he comes to love his red color. What is endearing about him is he sees acceptance not only regarding himself, but towards his friends. His varied sea creature friends show him the example of what it's like to be unique and part of a group. - Sophie Jupillat Posey
Day 3 - Favourite Excerpts
When Ted calls a meeting with all of his friends. The glory of all of their colours is something magical. - Yvonne Marrs
The pictures are all vibrant and fun. To me, though, the best is the final picture of the story where all the marine animals are swimming together. This illustrates the important message of the book – we are all different, and yet we are can all get along together if we so wish - Phoebe Wilby
The picture of Ted among his friends with the crab on top of him saying “Let’s play follow the leader!” is one of my favs because the illustration is beautifully done. You can see all of his friends, and it’s a heartwarming example of the story’s theme. - Sophie Jupillat Posey
Day 4 - Video Interview
Day 5 - Reviews
Overall Star Rating: 5 stars Seaquel In The Ocean of Colour is fantastic for readers in the picture book age range of 3-7 years. Introducing sea creatures, the story is themed for friendship, and on being different yet still valued. No language complexity and an easy flowing narrative structure means that young readers can read this book themselves, as well as being a bedtime read - or a school read where other activities can tie in. Detailed illustrations are of quality, enhancing the storytelling effectiveness and visual engagement. The book encourages emotional resonance and gives learning opportunities about the sea creatures, how others may treat us and how we should think before we believe what bullies tell us. Great book to enhance a visit to a sealife sanctuary. (Yvonne Marrs)
Overall Star Rating: 5 stars Robyn Gram-Buckley’s My Good Friend, Ted The Seaquel. Ocean of Colour is a little book with a powerful message. Ted is a Blue Whale who just happens to be red. Most of the marine animals are friends with him. They see his kindness and wisdom. However, his fellow Blue Whales see him as something quite different, someone to be mocked and shunned as an outcast. He’s not like the rest of the Blue Whales, after all. However, Ted has some words of wisdom for us all. Those things that make us different and unique are to be celebrated, not mocked. Akin to an Aesop’s fable, My Good Friend, Ted The Seaquel. Ocean of Colour will teach children to be more tolerant of others, and to see differences as just that. We are all unique in our own special way. This book will help children to see beauty in their own uniqueness. It is a book that should be on the curriculum in every school and available in every public library. (Phoebe Wilby)
Overall Star Rating: 5 stars My Good Friend Ted! The Seaquel in the Ocean of Colour is a heartwarming story about Ted, a blue whale who is red, who encounters issues with acceptance from the blue whale community. He and his friends protect the ocean and they show the example with their welcoming attitudes; they show what it means to accept creatures of all kinds of colors and shapes. We get a nice glimpse of the diversity of Ted’s friends. The story explores the themes of kindness, respect and diversity well. The pictures are whimsical and beautiful, and are a great accompaniment to the story. The pace is good; I would have loved to see more about the blue whale pod’s shift in attitude near the end, but otherwise this is a sweet story, with a nice resource at the end to boot! (Sophie Jupillat Posey)
Book Tour Reviewers
