Grumpy Grace

Susannah McFarlane (author)

Lachlan Creagh (illustrator)

Scholastic, Australia: April 2011

ISBN: 9781741698312

Genres: animal stories, picture book

Issues: friendship, participation

Grace is a very grumpy gecko.'She grizzles about wearing gumboots to gather geraniums in the garden.' In fact Grace grizzles about everything. All the time.

Her grumpy nature means she can always find a good reason not to join in group activities, of if she does it's only to complain about them. Finally her friends leave Grace to her grumbles and she realizes that her constant bad mood is interfering with her friendships.

McFarlane has done a wonderful job with this series and Grumpy Grace is another successful short narrative that uses a range of extension words and also reminds readers that a positive attitude makes for a happier life. As always, Creagh's illustrations are imaginative and humorous, each gecko imbued with its own personality. One of the best alphabet series I've seen, the Scholastic 'Little Mates' series encourages youngsters to expand their vocabulary and play with language as they might with their building blocks.

In the series: Amazing Amelia; Bouncy Ben; Cuddly Callum; Daredevil Declan; Energetic Elliott; Friendly Fred