Tweedle Dee Dee

Voake’s charming take on the old song ‘The Green Grass Grew All Around’ never stirs from the great oak tree in which there was ‘the finest nest you ever did see’. Freely and delicately drawn in line and dappled in water colour, it has an old-fashioned feel that complements the song itself: the squirrels in the branches are red, and the dress of the girl and the boy picnicking at the foot of the tree is just a shade old-fashioned. As the beautifully composed spreads move in and out of the tree, now showing us the children, now the branch, now the bird, now the nest, a quiet interaction between the children and the animals takes place: the squirrel perches on the girl’s arm; once the cat is safely tucked in the picnic bag, the bird flies down for some crumbs; and, as the children leave, the chicks break out of their eggs. Finally, on the last two pages, we have the musical score for the song, as all the cast of the story get together around the piano at the foot of the page. Warm and witty, it celebrates both our nearness to nature and the secrets it keeps from us.