Tracey Corduroy (text) & Joe Berger (illustrations)
(Nosy Crow)
What if your granny was a little bit “out there”? What if people stared at her in the street when you are out shopping with her? What if your friends found her really cool, while you just found her just a little bit embarrassing? And what if you were granted the opportunity to change her to what you think a granny should be?
This is exactly the conundrum the little heroine of this story faces. She loves her granny, but her eccentricities are sometimes hard to ignore and she longs for a “regular” granny. But when the little girl makes the decision to change her, she finds out soon enough that the allegedly better version might be a bit of disappointment after all.
Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble is a magical, stylish and funny story which celebrates individuality and advocates accepting other people’s differences, and is just perfect for Halloween. The rhyming text is catchy and great to read aloud and the gorgeous illustrations by Joe Berger fit the tone and theme perfectly, especially with the beautiful palette of colours used (including some lovely shades of purple) which amplifies the spooky side of the story. The illustrations are full of quirky details (the name of the movie showing at the theatre, the frog in the cookie jar to name a few) , and gorgeously retro. I think Joe Berger did Tracey Corduroy’s creation justice; the witch granny who is anything but scary is a great character and text and artwork come together beautifully for an overall fantastic effect.
Hubble Bubble Granny Trouble is a great read for Halloween, and beyond! It will of course be a perfect read for grannies to read with their grandchildren but it really is fun for the whole family.
All illustrations © Joe Berger
love you your blog, very inspirational to an up and coming children’s book illustrator.