If All the World Were...

Not to be confused with Joseph Coelho’s well-received poem ‘If all the world were paper’ in his CLiPPA winning collection Werewolf Club Rules, this picture book develops one of its central themes: protecting those we love and preserving their memory.

A child describes her relationship with her Indian grandfather – the activities they share, the stories he tells her and the way he encourages her to write and draw by giving her a notebook he has made himself. When he dies she finds a new notebook on his empty chair that she can use to record her memories of him and feel that he remains with her as she cultivates her own creativity. Allison Colpoys uses delicate, slightly muted shades of primary colours interleaved with brown as she depicts the final year of their time together through the seasons.