Granny and Bean

Karen Hesse is the author of numerous books for young people, including Out of the Dust, winner of the Newbery Medal and the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction; The Cats in Krasinksi Square, illustrated by Wendy Watson; Letters from Rifka, winner of the National Jewish Book Award; and Night Job, illustrated by G. Brian Karas. She was also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellows Grant in 2002. Charlotte Voake is a Welsh-born author and illustrator of many books for children, including Ginger, a Nestlé Smarties Children’s Book Prize winner and American Library Association Notable Children’s Book; Ginger Finds a Home; Pizza Kittens, a Nestlé Smarties Children’s Book Prize Silver Medal winner; and Hello Twins, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year.

Told in rhyming verse, the story is a quiet study of life by the sea. The illustrations, which rely on grays, browns, and tans, perfectly capture the chill and damp of a blustery day. . . . Librarians and educators will appreciate that the book provides a gentle counterpoint to the plethora of “sunny days at the beach” books. . . Perfectly captures the mood of the day.