Bob Graham (author/illustrator) facts for kids

Robert Donald Graham, known as Bob Graham (born 20 October 1942), is an Australian author and illustrator. He creates picture books, mostly for young children.

Bob Graham has won many awards for his books. In 2002, he won the important Kate Greenaway Medal. This award is given by British librarians for the best-illustrated children's book published in the UK. He won it for his book Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child. This story is about a girl who finds a tiny fairy family. He gave the prize money to help refugees.

He also won the 2000 Smarties Prize for Max. This award was for books for ages 0–5 years. In 2002, he won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for "Let's Get A Pup!" Said Kate.

In 2012, Bob Graham was chosen as Australia's nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal. This is a big international award for children's illustrators.

About Bob Graham

Bob Graham was born in Sydney, Australia. He loved drawing from a young age. Comics like The Phantom and Mandrake really inspired him.

He studied drawing and painting. After finishing school, he went to the UK. Later, he came back to Sydney. There, he started his career as an illustrator and designer. From 1983 to 1995, he lived in Melbourne. He worked as an illustrator for a publishing company called The Five Mile Press. Now, he lives in the UK. He works on a monthly comic strip for a French magazine. He also keeps creating his popular picture books.

In 1982, he illustrated a music and lyrics booklet. It was for the Australian Broadcasting Commission's Sing radio show. This show taught music to primary school kids. A picture from his book Greetings from Sandy Beach was even used on an Australia Post stamp! This stamp celebrated 50 years of the Children's Book Council of Australia awards.

One of his most famous books is How to Heal a Broken Wing. This 36-page picture book came out in 2008. It tells the story of a city boy who helps an injured bird. This book has been translated into many languages. These include Scottish Gaelic, French, Spanish, and Chinese.

Awards and Recognitions

Bob Graham's books have received many awards and honors. They often appear on "best of" lists.

Many of his books have been chosen by the Junior Library Guild. This means they are recommended books for libraries. Some of these include Max (2000), How to Heal a Broken Wing (2008), and April and Esme, Tooth Fairies (2011).

The Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has also listed many of his books as top choices. These include "Let's Get a Pup" Said Kate (2001) and How the Sun Got to Coco's House (2015).

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has named several of his books as Notable Children's Books. These are books that stand out for their quality. Examples include "Let's Get A Pup,' Said Kate (2002) and Home in the Rain (2018). An animated version of his book Max was also named a Notable Children's Video in 2003.

School Library Journal called How to Heal a Broken Wing one of the best picture books of 2008. The Horn Book Magazine also praised April and Esme, Tooth Fairies (2010) and Home in the Rain (2017).

Kirkus Reviews named Vanilla Ice Cream one of the best picture books of 2014. This book was also chosen by Bank Street College of Education as one of the best books of 2015. In 2017, Home in the Rain received a "blue ribbon" from The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.

Here are some of the major awards Bob Graham has won for his books:

• 1988: Crusher is Coming won the CBCA's Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book.
• 1991: Greetings from Sandy Beach won the CBCA's Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book.
• 1993: Rose Meets Mr Wintergarten won the CBCA's Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book and the Children's Peace Literature Award.
• 2000: Max won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, ages 0–5 years.
• 2000: Buffy: An Adventure Story won the Children's Yearly Best Ever Reads (CYBER) Award, Picture Books.
• 2002: Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child won the Kate Greenaway Medal.
• 2002: "Let's Get A Pup!" Said Kate won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Picture Book, and the CBCA's Children's Book of the Year Award: Early Childhood.
• 2009: How to Heal a Broken Wing won the CBCA's Children's Book of the Year Award: Early Childhood and the Charlotte Zolotow Award.
• 2012: A Bus Called Heaven won the CBCA's Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book.
• 2014: The Silver Button won the Prime Minister's Literary Award, Children's Fiction.
• 2017: Home in the Rain won the CBCA's Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book and the Prime Minister's Literary Award, Children's Fiction.