Description Share Post A Hatful of Dreams Bob Graham (Walker Books) There’s ‘a little warm glow in the last house by one‘ on Five Mile Road. It’s where we find the Andersons. When we look through the window we find ‘a sofa, some dog hair, a radio playing an old-fashioned love song‘ alongside a Moroccan fusion and toffee wrappers. What’s more, there’s a hallway of laughter as Dad carries the family, and Maggie the pup. However, upon a comfy seat, Grandad strums his guitar. Alongside ‘a pocketful of treats’, Grandad holds A Hatful of Secrets. Bob Graham is a necessary writer/ illustrator for readers. Just think of Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten, for example. There’s a dexterity in the drawing, similar to Quentin Blake or Sam Usher, alongside such artful use of light and space, and perspective. Then again, there’s the storytelling. Thereafter what are the secrets that Grandad hides? Could there be magic, or secrets? In fact, might there be ‘secret tunes‘? However, what if a ‘small boy heard it and walked off whistling it’? Thereafter, what if a ‘small brown sparrow, an apple with a bite taken out and a teacup from China with magic inside‘ were hidden atop of Grandad’s head? We’re held captive like the family in the stories Grandad tells! Yet this is a story of so much more, as Bob Graham shows in the use of shadow and light. It’s evident that Five Mile Road has fallen into disrepair and neglect, that the Anderson’s home is a beacon. Can it prove as such to us? Bookwagon loves A Hatful of Dreams. We recommend this picture book so highly.
