Gran's Good News ¦ Gran's Old Bones

Gran is a new character from the creators of Bod, and has her own TV series (which I haven't seen). Seemingly she is a somewhat grumpy old lady with a grandson, Jim, whose timely visits always manage to lead to exciting happenings such as a television appearance for Gran or the discovery of dinosaur bones in the garden. I do not know how closely the stories follow the scripts but the fact that the illustrations are paintings rather than TV stills means that these pleasant little books for sharing with preschoolers can stand in their own right; though doubtless their popularity will depend to some extent on the success, or otherwise, of the television series.

(Those who follow the TV adventures of SuperTed will do best to ignore the books from the series (Muller): flat, brash pictures and dull, present-tense prose cripple any excitement which the storyline may carry).