Imaginative grandfathers and European cityscapes dominate in these books, with all the protagonists having creative ways of seeing, just like their creators. When Suzy, in Grandpa’s Gate, falls down the thirteen steps from her house, what is needed is a gate for the top. So Grandpa welds a special one, with an owl, a moon and stars – ‘all sorts of extraordinary bits of his own’. It’s practical, but interesting at the same time. Then Suzy and her family move away and don’t see Grandpa for years, until, lonely and confused, he comes to live with them. But Suzy has an idea: in the garage is her old gate. Together, she and Grandpa paint, rehang and weld more birds to go with it.
Hello Puppy! by David Cox
Penguin, $24.95 hb, 32 pp
Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat by Stephen Michael King
Allen & Unwin, $24.95 hb, 32 pp
Little Red Bear by Penny Matthews, illustrated by Anna Pignataro
Scholastic, $27.95 hb, 32 pp
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