The Cranky Caterpillar

Book excerpt: One day Ezra hears a gloomy blue tune coming from the piano. To her surprise, it's a caterpillar making the sound: a cranky caterpillar. Ezra tries to cheer him up with some fresh air, cakes and new hats, but nothing seems to work... What can Ezra do to help the cranky caterpillar change his tune? Richard Graham is a new illustrator with a highly distinctive and original style. The origins of The Cranky Caterpillar lie in his own artistic sculptural creations: a caterpillar created from the hammers inside an old piano, a band of musical characters, all sculpted from instruments and materials found in his studio. Graham has also been inspired by Wassily Kandinsky's colour synesthesia, whereby we are shown the magical colours of music, in this splendidly illustrated book. Children will identify with the struggle the caterpillar goes through in trying to articulate his emotions, and will delight in the inventive band of friends that succeed in cheering him up.