Vanilla Ice Cream

A new picture book from Bob Graham is always an event. Yet it arrives quietly with no fuss or fireworks. Rather, Graham takes the small details of life and follows the story with a quiet intimacy that absorbs the reader. Here we find a familiar theme – that of a common humanity and the connections between people, connections that can be as small and insignificant as a sparrow. There is another favourite thread – the little event that leads to something surprising, a consequence that may not seem much but is in fact amazing, like the first taste of vanilla ice cream. Graham’s meticulous lines and luminous colours capture the extraordinary in the everyday with precision and affection. The reader is carried through the book by the rhythm of the illustrations that move from easily from full page spreads to framed vignettes and cinematic strips and back. There are vistas to enjoy and details to explore; the text is precise and minimal working with the pictures to create a beautiful and satisfying whole.