PICTURE BOOK - Vanilla Ice Cream - Bob Graham

Illustrated by the author

2014 Candlewick Press

40 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.54

My rating: 4

Endpapers: peach with subtle leaf repetitions

Setting:  Contemporary India; over the ocean; then a city of white people

1^st line/s:  "The young sparrow rises from the dust.  He looks down at Annisha and Suhami."

My comments:  This is one clever, adorable book.  Limited words, super illustrations.  Some pages have several boxes to closely examine - sort of a beginning graphic novel.  The whole time you're reading you're thinking ... vanilla ice cream?  This is about a sparrow's journey -- but the cute twist at the end is fun.

Goodreads:  A wild sparrow’s journey sets in motion a toddler’s new experience in Bob Graham’s tale of life’s surprising little turns — and unlikely connections.
          Following some food, a curious young sparrow stows away in the back of a truck and takes an unusual voyage south — through the lush rice paddies of India, across the rough sea, and all the way into a bright new day. As the sun rises high over the city, he finds little Edie at a café with her grandma and granddad, and for a fleeting instant, his world meets up with hers and changes her life in the most delightful way. From the masterful Bob Graham comes an invitation to notice the smallest of moments as they unfold around us, full of unexpected promise.