Trudie Trewin (text) and Nelli Suneli (illustrator), Grandma’s Prickly Secret, Larrikin House, August 2021, 32 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781922503268
A rhyming romp for the very young that takes the reader on a little boy’s zany imaginings of how to help his grandmother feel ok about aging when he discovers she is trying to pluck out her chin hairs: perhaps she could tie them to her glasses so they don’t get lost, or thread them with beads to make them look pretty. Could they become dog leads, or a fishing line? The possibilities are endless…
Nelli Sundli’s bold, humours illustrations support and extend the text well and despite not really evolving as a narrative, the story could encourage kids to think laterally about how to solve unusual problems and, to have fun coming up with new and crazier possibilities for grandma’s chin hairs.
Suitable for ages 3+ years.
Reviewed by Mem Capp
