Home in the Rain

‘The little red car seemed to muster all of its courage as it waited outside, ready for the road.’ Francie and her mother endure a long journey home in the little red car, through driving relentless rain, only punctuated by a stop for sandwiches and to discuss the new baby the family anticipates.

The reader joins the journey, past ‘endless lines of cars and buses, oil tankers and trucks’ past the hidden rabbits, field mice and kestrels, from city to countryside, highways to lanes. The storytelling, through text and picture, is mesmerising. This is a book in which to linger, that holds so much meaning, both stated and inferred. We participate in Francie’s preoccupations, from her absent father, to the forthcoming baby. We watch her draw on the fogged glass, we feel her assume the memory of this final journey alone with her mother.

Bob Graham is a Bookwagon favourite. HIs works are always wonderful, with each new title being hotly anticipated by us. We urge our readers to discover this picture book supremo, knowing that whatever your age, his books will engage, entice and enthralling. ‘Home in the Rain‘ is one of his very best books.