Max by Bob Graham

 Max is an appealing and large hardback book (25 x 30 cm) which will capture the imagination of toddlers through to lower primary school children. This book was winner of the 2000 Nestle Children's Book Prize Gold Medal and its easy to see why. Author and illustrator Bob Graham goes straight to the heart

of children’s experiences, creating gentle dramas from familiar situations. He masterminds an instantly recognisable world within which children feel secure and can relate to. Baby Max lives in an ordinary street in an ordinary town, but his house is far from ordinary; its big and yellow and the shape of a lightening bolt that  reaches high above the other residences towards the sky. He is the son of two superheroes, who dressed in their Superman-like attire, fly around the world tracking down thieves and bullies. These are the big footsteps in which Max is expected to follow, however, he is finding learning to fly an exceedingly difficult task despite the encouragement and cajoling he receives from his parents. Then one day a baby birds falls from its nest and Max has to take action. Woven into the very heart of this fantasy story are issues of identity, bullying and difference. Bravery and heroism, are equally valuable, whether applied to big or small causes. The illustrations are bright and bold and a mix of full page ones, double page spreads and a series of comic strip style layouts. All in all, good fun.