Oscar's Half Birthday

Author and Illustrator: Bob Graham

For Ages: 5 and above

No. of Pages: 32

Publisher: Walker Books, London

Year: 2005

ISBN: 978-0-76362-699-0

Here’s a story of sweet, little Oscar who’s just turned 6 months old. Millie, his 4-year-old sister  and his parents are excited as they look forward to celebrating his ‘half-birthday’.

The sensitive narrative could easily be a slice of life from any of our lives. The author obviously has closely observed a baby with all the tenderness that can well up only in a parental heart. Or maybe I’m wrong. It is Bob Graham, after all, an award-winning children’s author.

Check out this passage:

In the lift, Millie (Oscar’s sister) the dinosaur presses all the buttons. Bright as a Christmas tree they shine, bright as candles on a cake, glinting in Oscar’s dark eyes …

And, this sentence:

Oscar frowns up against the light – six different expressions on his face in the time it takes a leaf to fall.

Or this one:

His (Oscar’s) shoulders are hunched, his head nods and the sun shines through his ears, lighting them up like little lanterns.

The book is a treasure, not just for its heart-warming text and gentle humor but also for its breathtakingly detailed illustrations.