Richard Graham is a new illustrator with a highly distinctive and original style. The origins of The Cranky Caterpillar lie in his own artistic sculptural creations: a caterpillar created from the hammers inside an old piano, a band of musical characters, all sculpted from instruments and materials found in his studio. Graham has also been inspired by Wassily Kandinsky's color synesthesia, whereby we are shown the magical colors of music, in this splendidly illustrated book. Children will identify with the struggle the caterpillar goes through, in trying to articulate his emotions, and will delight in the inventive band of friends that succeed in cheering him up.