Vanilla Ice Cream is a simple story written by Bob Graham. This is not necessarily a bad thing, in fact the story's simplicity is a strength. A truck stop sparrow manages to accidently take a boat from India to Australia. While there the sparrow gets chased by a dog, causing Ice cream to fall into the lap of Edie Irvine a toddler. Is here that Eddie's life gets changed forever, by having his first taste of vanilla ice cream. There are two possible takes for this book; one is enjoy the simple things in life, or even the smallest actions can ripple outward for a big effect. Whichever of the two Vanilla Ice Cream is still a pleasant and fun read. ( )

This Bob Graham book is filled with wonderful detailed illustrations that tells the story with a few texts to support the illustrations. A wild sparrow follows food to a new city. The sparrow find a grandma, grandpa, little Edie Irvine and their dog. The sparrow follows the food to a table where the dog jumps uo and knocks grandpa's vanilla ice cream cone into Edie's lap where she tastes ice cream for the very first time. Edie watches the wild sparrows eating crumbs as she strolls by. It's funny how cause and effect can lead you to something new! ( )

This books has a very interesting approach on how to get children thinking about impacts in life. A bird starts off seeing two little girls simply playing in the street, where there is a nearby truck full of rice for the wild bird to eat. Strange enough that if that bird had not been there with those two little girls, the bird would not have made it on that truck, which takes it across the world. The bird then ends up in the city and so happens to find a little girl with her grandparents who had a dog. If the dog would not have been there, the bird would not have been scared off which would not have made the ice cream fall. The ice cream that fell is what changed Edie's life forever. Students can now see that this bird beginning with the little girls that saw the truck lead him all the way to changing Edie's life forever. ( )

Following a bag of rice, a little sparrow leaves behind its life in India and travels overseas to Australia, where it encounters a little girl named Edie. This chance meeting leads to an accident, which in turn introduces Edie to the pleasure of vanilla ice cream...

Australian author/artist Bob Graham, creator of such lovely picture-books as How to Heal a Broken Wing and "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate, spins a delicate tale here, one that emphasizes the unseen but nevertheless important connections between humanity and nature, and between the diverse parts of the world. The artwork, done in ink and watercolor, is every bit as lovely as the text. Although not a particularly suspenseful story, Vanilla Ice Cream has a quiet, contemplative feeling to it that I found quite appealing. Recommended to Bob Graham fans, and to anyone looking for children's stories that address the idea of interconnectivity. ( )