Graham, Bob 1942–

views updated Jun 11 2018

Graham, Bob 1942–

Personal

Born October 20, 1942, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; son of Donald (in sales) and Kathleen (a secretary) Graham; married Carolyn Smith (a bookseller), August 26, 1967; children: Naomi Ann, Peter Sebastian. Education: Attended Julian Ashton Art School (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1964-68.

Addresses

Home—England. E-mail—[email protected].

Career

Author and illustrator. New South Wales Government Printers, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, artist, 1973-75; Department of Technical Education, Sydney, resource designer, 1975-82, Five Mile Press, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, freelance illustrator and writer, beginning 1982; currently freelance writer and creator of a monthly comic-strip for a French magazine.

Member

Australian Society of Authors.

Awards, Honors

Picture Book of the Year Commendation, Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), 1986, and Certificate of Honour for Illustration, International Board on Books for Young People, 1988, both for First There Was Frances; Picture Book of the Year Award shortlist, CBCA, 1987, for The Wild, 1989, for Grandad's Magic, and 1998, for Queenie and Bantam; Picture Book of the Year Award, CBCA, 1988, for Crusher Is Coming, 1991, for Greetings from Sandy Beach, and 1993, for Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten; Kate Greenaway Medal Highly Commended citation, British Library Association (BLA), 1998, for Queenie the Bantam; Smarties Prize in five-and-under category, 2000, and Children's Early Childhood Book of the Year Honour Book, CBCA, 2001, both for Max; Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist, 2001, and Boston Globe/Horn Book Award in picture-book category, Henry Burgh Children's Book Award, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Children's Early Childhood Book of the Year Award, CBCA, all 2002, all for "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate; Kate Greenaway Medal, 2002, for Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child; CBCA Early Childhood Picture Book of the Year Award shortlist, 2004, for Tales from the Waterhole; Blue Peter Book Awards shortlist, 2005, for The Nine Lives of Aristotle by Dick King-Smith; Notable Book honor, CBCA, 2007, for Dimity Dumpty.

Writings

SELF-ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN'S BOOKS

(With Peter Smith) Pete and Roland, Collins (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1981, Viking (New York, NY), 1984.

Pearl's Place, Lothian (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1983, Bedrick (New York, NY), 1985.

Here Comes Theo, Omnibus (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia), 1983, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1988.

Here Comes John, Omnibus (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia), 1983, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1988.

Libby, Oscar, and Me, Lothian (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1984, Bedrick (New York, NY), 1985.

The Junk Book: A Guide to Creative Uses of Recycled Materials for Children, Five Mile Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1984, Blandford Press (New York, NY), 1986.

Where Is Sarah?, Hamish Hamilton (London, England), 1985, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1988.

Bathtime for John, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1985.

First There Was Frances, Lothian (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1985, Bradbury (New York, NY), 1986.

The Wild (also see below), Lothian (Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1986, Bedrick (New York, NY), 1987.

The Red Woollen Blanket, Walker (London, England), 1987, published as The Red Woolen Blanket, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1988.

The Adventures of Charlotte and Henry, Viking (New York, NY), 1987, reprinted, ABC Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Crusher Is Coming! (also see below), Lothian (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1987, Viking (New York, NY), 1988.

Has Anyone Here Seen William?, Walker (London, England), 1988, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1989.

Grandad's Magic, Little, Brown (Boston, MA), 1989.

Waiting for the New Baby (also see below), Walker (London, England), 1989.

Visiting the New Baby (also see below), Walker (London, England), 1989.

Bringing Home the New Baby (also see below), Walker (London, England), 1989.

Getting to Know the New Baby (also see below), Walker (London, England), 1989.

Greetings from Sandy Beach (also see below), Lothian (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1990, Kane/Miller (Brooklyn, NY), 1992.

Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten, Candlewick (Cambridge, MA), 1992.

Brand New Baby (includes Waiting for the New Baby, Visiting the New Baby, Bringing Home the New Baby, and Getting to Know the New Baby), Walker (London, England), 1992.

Spirit of Hope, Lothian (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1993, Mondo (Greenvale, NY), 1996.

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Zoltan the Magnificent, Lothian (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1994.

Queenie, One of the Family, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1997, published as Queenie the Bantam, Walker (London, England), 1997.

Benny: An Adventure Story, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1999, published as Buffy: An Adventure Story, Walker (London, England), 1999.

Max, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2000.

"Let's Get a Pup!" said Kate, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2001.

Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Bob Graham Collection (includes The Wild, Crusher Is Coming!, and Greetings from Sandy Beach), Lothian (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 2004.

The Adventures of Charlotte and Henry, ABC Books (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Tales from the Waterhole, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2004.

Oscar's Half Birthday, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

"The Trouble with Dogs…" said Dad, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Dimity Dumpty: The Story of Humpty's Little Sister, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

How to Heal a Broken Wing, Walker Books (London, England), 2008.

ILLUSTRATOR

Henrietta Clark, compiler, The Useful Book, Australian Broadcasting Company (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1979.

Edel Wignell, A Boggle of Bunyips, Hodder & Stoughton (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1981.

Peter Smith, Jenny's Baby Brother, Collins (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1981, Viking (New York, NY), 1984.

Sing Together, Australian Broadcasting Company (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1982.

Time to Sing!, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1982.

A First Australian Poetry Book, Oxford University Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1983.

Roland Harvey, Second Ever Book of Things to Make and Do, Roland Harvey Studios (Canterbury, New South Wales, Australia), 1983.

Judith Ryles, Microwave Cooking for Kids, Five Mile Press (Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia), 1984.

Judith Ryles, The Second Microwave Cooking for Kids, Five Mile Press (Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia), 1985.

Kevin Heinze, How Does Your Garden Grow?, Five Mile Press (Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia), 1985.

More Free Stuff for Kids, 1985.

Mijo Beccaria, It's Fun to Be Two, 1985.

Roland Harvey, Roland Harvey's Incredible Book of Almost Everything, Sterling, 1985.

Anne Bower Ingram and Peggy O'Donnell, editors, Ford Family Car Fun Book, Ellsyd Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1986.

Anne Bower Ingram, Making a Picture Book, Methuen Australia (North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia), 1987.

Anne Bower Ingram, Camping: Let's Do It Together, Ellsyd Press (Chippendale, New South Wales, Australia), 1987.

Iona and Peter Opie, Babies: An Unsentimental Anthology, John Murray (London, England), 1990.

Stella Turner, Sounds and Music, Ellsyd Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1990.

Michael Rosen, editor, Poems for the Very Young, Kingfisher (New York, NY), 1993.

Michael Rosen, This Is Our House, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 1996.

Nigel Gray, Full House, Lothian (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1998.

Dick King-Smith, The Nine Lives of Aristotle, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2003.

Nigel Gray, My Dog, My Cat, My Mum, and Me!, Walker Books (Newtown, New South Wales, Australia), 2007, published as My Dog, My Cat, My Mama, and Me!, Candlewick Press (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Nigel Gray, Come on Everybody! Time to Play!, Walker Books (Newtown, New South Wales, Australia), 2008.

OTHER

I Can (reader series), 11 volumes, Five Mile Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1984, published in one volume as Reading Is Fun, Blackie, 1986.

Science Early Learner (reader series), 7 volumes, Five Mile Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1985-86

Busy Day (reader series), 3 volumes, Five Mile Press (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1988.

(Compiler, with Helen Gee), Forest Echoes: And Other Verses for the Tasmanian Bush, East Coast of the Tasmania Branch of the Wilderness Society (Buckland, Tasmania, Australia), 1988.

Adaptations

Benny was adapted as a videorecording by Spoken Arts, 2006.

Sidelights

A picture-book author and illustrator who spent most of his career working in his native Australia, Bob Graham is known for the simplicity, droll humor, and charming everyday quality of his stories and pictures. As he once noted, "My stories are a light-hearted glimpse of the day-to-day activities of children, their families and dogs." Critics have lauded Graham's ability to notice and accentuate, in a dead-pan manner, the details and events that are so momentous to children but which pass virtually unnoticed by adults, and this characteristic makes his books enjoyable to readers of all ages. His popularity has been attributed by critics to his unique ability to understand how children think and gauge his low-key comedy to a child's level. While the simplicity of Graham's work makes it suitable for "tod- dler comprehension capabilities," parents "enjoy the dry humor that permeates" his stories, according to Booklist contributor Denise M. Wilms. Now a resident of the United Kingdom, Graham creates a monthly comic-strip for a French magazine in addition to writing and illustrating books for children.

Graham's stories are told from a child's point of view, and his accompanying illustrations likewise present a youthful perspective on his subjects. Libby, Oscar, and Me is a book about a "master of disguises" who dresses up in her mother's clothes and has all sorts of dreamed-up adventures with her beloved dog and cat companions. In Here Comes John, a snail tries to avoid a myriad of pitfalls, such as a Scottie dog, a box of snail killer, and a curious and hungry little boy. Paula Neuss, writing in the Times Literary Supplement, declared these adventures to be "as important as those of many a romantic hero." The Wild captures a child's trepidation when his domestic pets depart for the nearby wild woods. Times Literary Supplement critic George Szirtes praised the "primitive magic" in the book, which "assures and confronts" a child with the differences in the natural, non-human realm.

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The inexplicable but passionate attachment children have to a seemingly ordinary, inanimate object is the inspiration for The Red Woollen Blanket, in which Julia chews and clutches her precious blanket from literally the day she is born to the day she starts school, when the last threads of the beloved but tattered textile are lost. In Oscar's Half Birthday, a young boy celebrates a special day in his loving biracial family, where a picnic in the park is the activity of choice. Noting that the family members' "love for one another overflows the pages" of Graham's self-illustrated story, Booklist contributor Ilene Cooper concluded of Oscar's Half Birthday that "the characters' happiness is contagious." Graham's "text abounds with wonderful images," added Robin L. Gibson in her School Library Journal review, the critic concluding that the book's ink-and-watercolor illustrations are "warm, expressive," and engaging through their constantly shifting perspective.

Graham's books also give a glimpse of family workings and intricacies. First There Was Frances is the tale of how, in the words of Cooper, "the formation of a family can bring a boisterous joy to life." A woman living alone is joined by a man who becomes her husband, and babies and a variety of pets follow shortly thereafter. In Crusher Is Coming! Pete invites the class football hero, Crusher, to his house for tea. He warns his mother not to kiss him in front of this macho kid, or else Crusher will think his family weak and silly. Pete also hopes his baby sister will not want to get in on the act. The big, red-headed footballer surprises everyone by happily taking part in the little sister's tea party, complete with toys and stuffed animals. According to a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, Graham's "new slant on sibling rivalry is droll," revealing the author's understanding of relationships within families as well as a child's view of them.

Critics have noted that, without being heavy-handed, Graham often gives lighthearted and humorous morality lessons. In both Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten and Greetings from Sandy Beach people who at first seem scary, undesirable, or simply a bit "off" are revealed as kind and caring. In the first book, Rose wonders about the mysterious and, therefore, somewhat frightening Mr. Wintergarten, who lives in the house next door. She never speaks to him until she ultimately is forced to in order to retrieve her ball from his yard. She discovers Mr. Wintergarten to be a kind old man and, thereby, "challenges some confining stereotypes in the name of humanity," according to a critic from Publishers Weekly.

Greetings from Sandy Beach is the story of a family's weekend seaside holiday during which they have to share the beach with a busload of school children and, even worse, with the Disciples of Death, a biker gang. Humorously told from the daughter's point of view, the book serves as "a long, comical postcard," according to a Publishers Weekly critic. Dad is not too happy about either group, but especially distrusts the tough-looking "bikies." By the end of the weekend, Dad changes his tune, after the Disciples help him set up the family's tent and show that they might be somewhat like this ordinary, middle-class family after all.

In Max Graham introduces a young boy growing up in a family of superheroes. Though Max already wears the uniform, he is reluctant to develop his flying skills, but then he must use them in order to save a baby bird. Writing in Booklist, Carolyn Phelan praised not only "the book's large size and brilliant colors," but its "welcome theme" as well. Similarly, Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan summed up Max in School Library Journal as "a welcome, gentle look at the world of superheroes."

A more familiar family dynamic is explored in the books "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate and "The Trouble with Dogs…" Said Dad In the first book, young Kate decides that a dog is missing in the family, and soon not only one dog, Rosy, but also the bouncy puppy Dave have left the animal shelter and been given a home in her laid-back family. Gay Lynn Van Vleck noted in School Library Journal that the author's illustrations "include a Mom with a tattoo and nose ring, and a disheveled Dad." Booklist critic Ilene Cooper concluded that the book is "sure to make … readers feel warm and happy."

When readers meet up with Kate and her family again in The Trouble with Dogs…" Said Dad Dave has proved to be a handful, but a dog-obedience trainer helps them learn to handle the out-of-control pet. When the trainer's brand of doggy discipline makes Dave too cowed, both trainer and family members decide that some of his hijinks are humorous rather than horrible after all. Cooper praised "The Trouble with Dogs…." Said Dad for its "feel-good ending," and Kitty Flynn wrote in Horn Book that Graham's "light, breezy" art brings to life an "affectionate portrait" of a loving family. In Kirkus Reviews, a critic added that the author/illustrator's "loose, cartoon-style illustrations … are full of motion and humorous details."

Graham explores the fanciful world of fairy tales and nursery rhymes in his books Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child and Dimity Dumpty: The Story of Humpty's Little Sister. In Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child a fairy boy and his parents are discovered by a human girl who invites them all to tea. Though the girl's parents cannot see her fairy companions, they humor her in her desire to provide hospitality for her new friends. School Library Journal reviewer Lisa Gangemi Kropp maintained that "Graham's charming watercolor-and-ink artwork has muted shadows, an affectionate softness that complements the magical undertones of the story." A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that Graham's "message about slowing down to enjoy the small wonders of life will resonate" with readers young and old, while a Kirkus Reviews critic praised the author's overriding theme about the value of being hospitable to strangers as a "worthy concept behind this deceptively simple tale."

Young readers are introduced to the backstory of a classic nursery rhyme in Dimity Dumpty. Like older brother Humpty and her parents, the Dumptys, Dimity is part of a traveling circus, riding from town to town in a rolling egg carton. Demure by nature, Dimity would rather play her flute than attract a crowd's attention, but when troublemaker Humpty gets caught defacing property and takes the well-known "great fall" into trouble, she bravely comes to her brother's rescue and summons help. Graham mixes his "understated wit" with "enticingly detailed" art, wrote Cooper in a review of the work for Booklist. The tale of a sibling who "shuns attention and remains true to herself will resonate with children and their parents," predicted School Library Journal contributor Marge Loch-Wouters, and a Kirkus Reviews critic wrote, simply, that "the writing and the art [in Dimity Dumpty] are equally exquisite."

Graham once commented, "Reviewers and interviewers have often asked me, are issues important in your books for children? I have traditionally replied that issues are too heavy for a picture book, and for me are cumbersome and forced, and I would never attempt to start a book with an issue. I concentrate on the story first, and things may arise from that which can only ever be a result of the story. I realized that my replies have been clichés, and I have had cause to think more deeply about that, particularly in sight of world events these past few years. My books have only ever been about one thing—people being respectful and decent to each other, treating each other well, and making allowance for their differences. And being tolerant of their dogs too. They are the people who might move to one side and let their dogs push them off the lounge chair.

"Perhaps these things have been my issues all along and I just have not been defining them? If so, let's have some more issues, and let these simple things become political, because these common humanities are so sadly lacking in leaders and in government decisions being made in our name, as I see it. And through books perhaps our children can grow with a little more empathy and tolerance for each other, and that the world might be a better place for it."

Taking time away from his own writing to working as an illustrator to other authors, Graham has produced art for books such as Dick King-Smith's award-winning The Nine Lives of Aristotle. Characteristically, the artwork in this story was praised by many reviewers, Kay Weisman writing in Booklist that Graham's "watercolor-and-ink illustrations … add … humorous details to the [book's] droll text." Indeed, in his long career in children's books, Graham has continued to develop his engaging artistic style. "Every time a computer graphics course is advertised in the local paper, I say, "I MUST go,'" the author/illustrator admitted on the Walker Books Web site. "But I always have something else to do, it seems. So I still use a pen dipped in ink, and chalks and watercolour, and scissors and sticky tape. Oh yes, and sometimes I tap out some words on my computer. And that suits me just fine."

Biographical and Critical Sources

BOOKS

Children's Literature Review, Volume 31, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1994.

Scobie, Susan, compiler, Dromkeen Book of Australian Children's Illustrators, Scholastic Australia (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1997, pp. 58-61.

Twentieth-Century Children's Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1995.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 1992, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten, p. 1687; January 1, 1994, Carolyn Phelan, review of Poems for the Very Young, p. 821; December 1, 1996, Carolyn Phelan, review of Spirit of Hope, p. 668; January 1, 1998, Hazel Rochman, review of Queenie, One of the Family, p. 798; November 1, 2000, Carolyn Phelan, review of Max, p. 548; July, 2001, Ilene Cooper, review of "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate, p. 2009; May 1, 2002, Ilene Cooper, review of Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, p. 1532; December 1, 2003, Kay Weisman, review of The Nine Lives of Aristotle, p. 667; May 1, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of Oscar's Half Birthday, p. 1589; December 1, 2006, Ilene Cooper, review of Dimity Dumpty: The Story of Humpty's Little Sister, p. 52; July 1, 2007, Ilene Cooper, review of "The Trouble with Dogs…" Said Dad, p. 67; December 15, 2007, Hazel Rochman, review of My Dog, My Cat, My Mum, and Me, p. 50.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January, 2001, review of Max, p. 181; September, 2001, review of "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate, p. 16; April, 2007, Karen Coats, review of Dimity Dumpty, p. 329; September, 2007, Deborah Stevenson, review of "The Trouble with Dogs…" Said Dad, p. 26.

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Horn Book, January-February, 1985, Nancy C. Hammond, review of Pete and Roland, pp. 42-43; September-October, 1986, Ethel L. Heins, review of First There Was Francis, p. 580; May-June, 1988, Elizabeth S. Watson, review of The Red Woolen Blanket, p. 341; July-August, 1988, Karen Jameyson, review of Crusher Is Coming!, p. 479; May-June, 1989, Karen Jameyson, review of Has Anyone Seen William?, pp. 356-357; November-December, 1989, Elizabeth S. Watson, review of Grandad's Magic, p. 759; May-June, 1992, Hanna B. Zeiger, review of Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten, p. 328; July-August, 1996, Margaret A. Bush, review of This Is Our House, p. 454; January-February, 1998, Lauren Adams, review of Queenie, One of the Family pp. 64-65; September-October, 2007, Kitty Flynn, review of The Trouble with Dogs…" Said Dad, p. 559.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2002, review of Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, p. 733; September 15, 2003, review of The Nine Lives of Aristotle, p. 1176; May 1, 2004, review of Tales from the Waterhole, p. 441; May 15, 2005, review of Oscar's Half Birthday, p. 589; December 15, 2006, review of Dimity Dumpty, p. 1268; June 15, 2007, review of "The Trouble with Dogs…" Said Dad.

New Statesman, November 27, 1987, Hilary Wilce, review of The Red Woollen Blanket, p. 34.

New York Times Book Review, April 10, 1994, Cynthia Zarin, review of Poems for the Very Young, p. 136.

Publishers Weekly, June 14, 1985, Jean F. Mercier, review of Libby, Oscar, and Me, p. 72; May 30, 1986, review of First There Was Frances, p. 62; June 12, 1987, review of The Wild, p. 83; March 11, 1988, review of The Red Woolen Blanket, p. 103; April 29, 1988, review of Crusher Is Coming!, p. 74; February 10, 1989, review of Has Anyone Here Seen William?, p. 70; February 3, 1992, review of Greetings from Sandy Beach, p. 80; June 8, 1992, review of Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten, p. 62; June 24, 1996, review of This Is Our House, p. 58; October 6, 1997, review of Queenie, p. 83; May 18, 1998, review of This Is Our House, p. 82; June 14, 1999, review of Benny: An Adventure Story, p. 69; July 24, 2000, review of In Every Tiny Grain of Sand: A Child's Book of Prayers and Praise, p. 92, review of Max, p. 93; July 30, 2001, review of Has Anyone Here Seen William?, p. 87; April 29, 2002, review of Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, p. 69; January 27, 2003, review of Benny, p. 262; August 4, 2003, review of The Nine Lives of Aristotle, p. 80; May 17, 2004, review of Tales from the Waterhole, p. 50; June 27, 2005, review of Oscar's Half Birthday, p. 61.

Reading Teacher, October, 1992, Barbara Tobin, reviews of Crusher Is Coming!, Greetings from Sandy Beach, and Grandad's Magic, pp. 146-156.

School Library Journal, December, 1984, Amy G. Gavalis, review of Jenny's Baby Brother, p. 77; March, 1985, Deborah Vose, review of Pete and Roland, p. 150; November, 1985, Lisa Castillo, review of Libby, Oscar, and Me, pp. 70-71; May, 1986, John Peters, review of First There Was Frances, p. 74; February, 1988, Kathleen Brachmann, review of The Adventures of Charlotte and Henry, p. 60; August, 1988, Susannah Price, review of The Red Woolen Blanket, p. 81; September, 1988, Lauralyn Persson, review of Crusher Is Coming!, p. 160; March, 1989, Virginia Opocensky, review of Where Is Sarah?, Here Comes Theo, Here Comes John, and Bath Time for John, p. 162; July, 1989, Kathy Piehl, review of Has Anyone Here Seen William?, p. 65; November, 1989, Cathy Woodward, review of Grandad's Magic, p. 82; August, 1992, Maria B. Salvadore, review of Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten, p. 136; January, 1994, Kathleen Whalin, review of Poems for the Very Young, p. 110; July, 1996, Steven Engelfried, review of This Is Our House, p. 71; March, 1997, Carolyn Jenks, review of Spirit of Hope, p. 159; November, 1997, Lisa Marie Gangemi, review of Queenie, p. 82; July, 1999, Rosalyn Pierini, review of Benny, p. 72; September, 2000, Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, review of Max, p. 198; July, 2001, Gay Lynn Van Vleck, review of "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate, p. 81; June, 2002, Lisa Gangemi Kropp, review of Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, p. 96; July, 2004, Mary Elam, review of Tales from the Waterhole, p. 76; July, 2005, Robin L. Gibson, review of Oscar's Half Birthday, p. 73; May, 2007, Marge Loch-Wouters, review of Dimity Dumpty, p. 97; January, 2008, Kristen Frey, review of My Dog, My Cat, My Mum, and Me!, p. 87.

Times Educational Supplement, August 4, 1989, William Feaver, review of Grandad's Magic, p. 18.

Times Literary Supplement, September 9, 1988, Lindsay Mackie, review of The Adventures of Charlotte and Henry, p. 1000.

Wilson Library Bulletin, September, 1986, Donnarae MacCann and Olga Richard, review of First There Was Frances, p. 62; June, 1987, Donnarae MacCann and Olga Richard, review of The Wild, p. 61; January, 1990, Donnarae MacCann and Olga Richard, review of Here Comes John, Here Comes Theo, Bath Time for John, and Where Is Sarah?, p. 93; December, 1990, Donnarae MacCann and Olga Richard, review of Grandad's Magic, p. 121; September, 1992, Donnarae MacCann and Olga Richard, review of Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten, p. 91; June, 1994, Donnarae MacCann and Olga Richard, review of Poems for the Very Young, pp. 136-137.

ONLINE

Government of Western Australia Focus on Fiction Web site,http://www.det.wa.edu.au/ (March 15, 2008), "Bob Graham."

Walker Books UK Web site,http://www.walkerbooks.co.uk/ (February 15, 2008), "Bob Graham."

Something About the Author

Graham, Bob 1942–

views updated May 18 2018

Graham, Bob 1942–

PERSONAL:

Born October 20, 1942, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; son of Donald (in sales) and Kathleen (a secretary) Graham; married Carolyn Smith (a bookseller), August 26, 1967; children: Naomi Ann, Peter Sebastian. Education: Attended Julian Ashton Art School (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1964-68.

ADDRESSES:

Home—England. E-mail—bobgraham [email protected].

CAREER:

Author and illustrator. New South Wales Government Printers, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, artist, 1973-75; Department of Technical Education, Sydney, resource designer, 1975-82, Five Mile Press, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, freelance illustrator and writer, beginning 1982; currently freelance writer and creator of a monthly comic strip for a French magazine.

MEMBER:

Australian Society of Authors.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Picture Book of the Year Commendation, Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA), 1986, and Certificate of Honour for Illustration, International Board on Books for Young People, 1988, both for First There Was Frances; Picture Book of the Year Award shortlist, CBCA, 1987, for The Wild, 1989, for Grandad's Magic, and 1998, for Queenie and Bantam; Picture Book of the Year Award, CBCA, 1988, for Crusher Is Coming, 1991, for Greetings from Sandy Beach, and 1993, for Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten; Kate Greenaway Medal Highly Commended citation, British Library Association (BLA), 1998, for Queenie the Bantam; Smarties Prize in five-and-under category, 2000, and Children's Early Childhood Book of the Year Honour Book, CBCA, 2001, both for Max; Kate Greenaway Medal shortlist, 2001, and Boston Globe/Horn Book Award in picture-book category, Henry Burgh Children's Book Award, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Children's Early Childhood Book of the Year Award, CBCA, all 2002, all for "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate; Kate Greenaway Medal, 2002, for Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child; CBCA Early Childhood Picture Book of the Year Award shortlist, 2004, for Tales from the Waterhole; Blue Peter Book Awards shortlist, 2005, for The Nine Lives of Aristotle by Dick King-Smith; Notable Book honor, CBCA, 2007, for Dimity Dumpty.

WRITINGS: