The Trouble With Gran

by Babette Cole

Gran, who is secretly an extraterrestrial being, livens up a trip to the seaside taken by a group of school children and senior citizens.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Babette Cole was a British children's author and illustrator. Born on the island of Jersey in the Channel Islands in 1949, she attended the Canterbury College of Art (now the University for the Creative Arts) and received first-class BA Honors. She worked on such children's programmes as Bagpuss (working with Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin) and Jackanory for BBC television.

As a children's writer, Cole created more than 150 picture books. Her best-seller Doctor Dog has been adapted as a successful children's cartoon series. Much of her work is earthy comedy, having titles like The Smelly Book, The Hairy Book, The Slimy Book and The Silly Book.

She spent her time writing, visiting schools and traveling. After a short illness she died on 15 January 2017, aged 66.

Reviews

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book! It is quite funny, and perfect for children. It’s also very imaginative and very original.

[Babette · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most popular of my 'The Trouble with...' series. Who has a granny like this?

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hassunkurinen-sarjan mukainen teos, joskin huomattavasti hauskempi kuin edellinen lukemamme teos. Avaruusolento-mummon edesottamukset jopa naurattivat meitä.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of an usual gran with a twist, fantastic!

[Rosie Beveridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

For tilly

[Nicole Dylewicz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was never familiar wit this novel until very recently. One of the kids at the camp I worked at read this book and when I saw it on the bookshelf I decided to read it also. After I read it I found it to be extremely adorable and funny. I felt like a kid again wen I was reading this because it was simple to read and was not based on any facts, it was based on humor and imagination. The story was about a Grandma who was really an alien and did was not "normal" like the rest of the grandparents. At first, everyone thought she was weird but everyone ended up liking her. She took them on a trip to a carnival somewhere in space and everyone had an amazing time. My favorite part of the novel is after they returned back to Earth, the Mom and Dad took her back home because of her behavior. However, when she went home she decided to open a travel agency using her garage. The moral to this story is to not be afraid to be your own person.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those British! The illustrations really make this story of a girl whose grandmother is an alien. Loved it!

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Babette Cole is such a talented artist. Her drawings in this book are wonderful...but the book just didn't life up to my hopes after reading and loving The Trouble With Mom over the years.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The trouble with acronyms is they are very regional and no kid in Australia ever has a clue about an OAP, though this is minor compared to Babette Cole's wry humour and fun illustrations.