One day Ezra hears a gloomy blue tune coming from the piano. To her surprise, it’s acaterpillar making the sound: a cranky caterpillar. Ezra tries to cheer him up with somefresh air, cakes and new hats, but nothing seems to work... What can Ezra do to helpthe cranky caterpillar change his tune? Richard Graham is a new illustrator with a highly distinctive and original style. Theorigins ofThe Cranky Caterpillarlie in his own artistic sculptural creations: a caterpillarcreated from the hammers inside an old piano, a band of musical characters, allsculpted from instruments and materials found in his studio. Graham has also beeninspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s colour synesthesia, whereby we are shown the magicalcolours of music, in this splendidly illustrated book. Children will identify with thestruggle the caterpillar goes through in trying to articulate his emotions, and willdelight in the inventive band of friends that succeed in cheering him up.