View source for How the Sun Got to Coco's House by Bob Graham

{{infobox1
|title= How the Sun Got to Coco's House
|author= Bob Graham
|reviewer= Linda Lawlor
|genre=For Sharing
|summary= An affectionate reminder that the sun shines on everyone alike, which will help small children understand about both the variety and the similarities of life across the earth.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Walker Books
|date=October 2017
|isbn=9781406373455
|cover=Graham_How
|aznuk=1406373451
|aznus=1406373451
}}

A tale of small moments: sunlight on a sailor's cap as he sets out on an early-morning fishing expedition, a rainbow after a shower and a glint of light in a whale's eye. While Coco sleeps, curled up snugly in her bed, creatures and people across the world are waking up to the sun. It chases the night away across the globe, until at last a bright ray finds its way to Coco's window and wakes her to another day of fun and laughter as she plays outside in the snow.  
 
There's no drama here, no big events or extraordinary characters. Instead, we are offered a gentle, kindly look at life on our world, almost tender in its depictions of the many and varied ways life exists. For very small children, this is their reality: pulling on your wellies, a walk in the snow, seeing the paperboy cycle past with his backpack full of newspapers, and breaking the ice in a puddle. Alongside those ordinary events they are introduced to pandas and snow cats, polar bears and camels, all waking as Coco does to sunshine and snow. All the same, all different, and this subtle but powerful message will be the reason why Amnesty International has endorsed the book.
 
The illustrations are simple and direct: the use of pen and ink and watercolour keep each image delicate and unthreatening (even that huge whale has a friendly smile!) and this will be an ideal book for bedtime: quiet and peaceful with the promise of more fun on the morrow. And little ones will enjoy looking at all the tiny but familiar details: a pair of socks drying on a line, a plane flying high above in the sky and a little dog on a lead, raising a leg to do what dogs do best when you take them out for walkies. Lots to look at, lots to discuss.

Bob Graham has written several prize-winning books for young children: here at Bookbag we really enjoyed [[I'm Number One by Michael Rosen and Bob Graham]] about a rather selfish toy who learns that other toys have feelings too. In fact, there are lots of excellent books around for smaller members of the family about mucking about and generally having fun in the snow: try [[Merry Christmas, Hugless Douglas by David Melling]], which is an absolute treat, and [[Snug as a Bug by Tamsyn Murray and Judi Abbot]] about coping with a visit to the park when the weather's gloomy and wet. And if you want to go back to the old traditional winter poems, but with delightfully up to date illustrations, you couldn't do better than [[Snow by Walter de la Mare]], which will bring to memory winters long past.

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