Look Back! - Softcover

"Look Back! by Trish Cooke and Caroline Binch even has the confidence to remind children (and parents) that fear is an inevitable part of life. This is a beautiful book with painstaking, lifelike illustrations that pull you into the story from the start. Cooke tells a West Indian grandmother s tale about a predator no one has ever clapped eyes on Ti Bolom. We meet the grandmother as a little girl with furrowed brow and braided hair, standing in a tropical wilderness and turning to look back at... nothing. Sometimes that is the nature of fear: the predator you never see but continue to believe exists. And I love the way the exploration collides here with a celebration of the rapport between a grandmother and her grandson: family, at its best, the ultimate tonic."
Kate Kellaway, The Observer

"Atmospheric illustrations... A very special story about the power of the imagination."
Parents in Touch

"You feel as though you were there. And you could be. Maybe."
Bookwitch

"This small independent publisher has taken on a big book one that is magical and one that celebrates other cultures, in this instance the Caribbean culture. In the story the reader is treated to a tale of magic adventure in the rainforest but is not quite sure whether the story is all in a grandmother s imagination or a true adventure. Does it really matter? Probably not for the adventure takes us on a glorious journey through brightly coloured foresty jungle and into the heart of storytelling."
Louise Ellis-Barrett, Armadillo Magazine

"The relationship between Grannie and Christopher is beautifully portrayed by author and illustrator. It is a lovely book for sharing and reading aloud, with sound effects and repetition for teller and listener to enjoy."
Sue Mansfield, The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY)

"It is good to see something by Trish Cooke and it is good to see something by Caroline Binch and doubly good to see them working together in this story drawn from a Dominican folk tale...The mystery and implied danger in Cooke s story is nicely held in check by the realism of Binch s richly detailed portraiture: and Binch s affectionate rendering of the relationship between both Granny and Christopher and granny as a girl and the old woman, Ma Constance, to whom she takes food, implies a beneficent universe in which even the slightly scary Ti Bolom can be a friend."
Clive Barnes, Books for Keeps

"This is a beautiful book with painstaking, lifelike illustrations that pull you into the story from the start - And I love the way the exploration collides here with a celebration of the rapport between a grandmother and her grandson: family, at its best, the ultimate tonic." The Observer "Atmosphere illustrations - A very special story about the power of the imagination." Parents in Touch "You feel as though you were there. And you could be. Maybe. Bookwitch "It is a great pleasure to recommend another title by the same award-winning author. I would hazard a guess that Look Back! will be just as popular with a slightly older readership at KS1 and early KS2."
--The School Librarian

Trish Cooke is an award-winning author, scriptwriter and actress of Dominican heritage. Born in Bradford, she was inspired to write mostly by her parents who were great storytellers. Her most popular children's book, So Much, won the 0-5 category of the Smarties Book Prize and was highly commended for the Kate Greenaway medal. She has written plays for stage, TV and radio, and also runs creative writing workshops.

Caroline Binch is an award-winning children's illustrator and author who is probably best known for her illustrations for Amazing Grace, which has become an international best-seller. Her book Hue Boy (written by Rita Phillips Mitchell) won the Smarties Gold Award in 1993 and Gregory Cool, which she wrote and illustrated, was highly commended for the Kate Greenaway medal. Caroline was born in Manchester but now lives by the sea in Cornwall.