How
the Sun Got to Coco’s House
Bob
Graham
Walker
Books NZ$28
Australian
author-illustrator Bob Graham has produced a large picture book which makes the
world much smaller – small enough for a child to understand. The sun is its
main character.
While young Coco is asleep in her bed, the sun is rising on the
other side of the planet. “It leapt whole countries, chasing the night.” Whichever
country it reaches – and almost every part of the globe is hinted at in
Graham’s beautiful landscape illustrations – the sun always casts its rays on a
child somewhere. Finally the sun reaches
a snow-bound urban street and “barged straight through Coco’s window.” The sun
helps Coco wake her parents, “and joined them for breakfast.”
An amazing double-page spread shows how a
sunbeam spends the afternoon with Coco and her friends. “But for a few passing
clouds, they spent the whole day together.” This is the sort of book that makes
every child a citizen of the world.
Reviewed by Trevor Agnew
This review first appeared in Your Weekend magazine (Fairfax) on 7 Nov 2015
