Spirit of Hope

by Bob Graham

The Fairweathers know everyone and everyone knows the Fairweathers. Their little house is close to a four-lane highway and factories tower overhead. Every morning they wave to the passing trucks and the drivers wave back. They are truly happy..until one day they learn that their house must be demolished. In this time of trouble, who can the Fairweathers turn to but their friends and a spirit of hope? Bob Graham currently lives in Somerset with his family, but has spent most of his life in Sydney. He trained at the Julian Ashton Art School and has published a wide range of award-winning children's picture books.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

An Australian children's author and illustrator. His books include Max, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, which won the Kate Greenaway Medal, and "Let's Get A Pup!" Said Kate which won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

Reviews

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A large family has to move from their home to make way for a factory being built on that spot. They search and search for another house, but can't find any that will suit their needs. Fortunately, the mother comes up with a plan (house -> house boat) while watching her youngest daughter play.

Illustrations have lots to look at.

[Manjunatha K]

I want read

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little unrealistic, but it is inspirational to see a family using love, community, and inspiration to solve a problem. And it's a Bob Graham I missed, so, bonus!

[Danielle Harriger · Rating 4 out of 5]

PB 11: I enjoyed this book because it is a hopeful, happy tale that introduces sophisticated vocabulary (such as “exotic”) in a context that children can understand. Also, I appreciated that Graham uses made up words (such as “pom-da-pom-da-pom”) to present sounds that children can imitate. While I valued Graham’s diction used throughout the book, the things that resonated most with me when reading were the creativity and innovation used when the family needed to solve a problem. I would recommend this book because even though the tale is unrealistic, it shows the importance of thinking outside of the box and using flexible problem solving.

[Joey Fong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about a family losing their home and still having hope in despair. This book is especially special to me because I had a chance to read it to a student who lost her home due to a fire over the summer. It was almost destine that I happened to pick up this book, read it, and found out about her situation all in the same day. I read this book to her at the end of the school day hoping that it would give her some hope in finding and rebuilding a home.

[Ronna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graham continues to have adorable community working together stories.

[K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely priceless. We love this family!

Family is what Bob Graham, the author, is all about, and this book might just be the best we've read yet.

[Adelaide Marker · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are always home when the Community come together to help a family keep their house.