• Age: 2 to 5
• Grade: p to k
• Reading age: 2 to 5

Many people find winter a trial. But for people who come from countries that are warm all year around it can be simply unbearable. Ken and Rama have looked forward to their Nana's visit from Africa for months. But when she arrives, in the middle of winter, she covers herself in three blue top sheets, three red blankets and three pink comforters. Brrr, she says, It's too cold for living things. Nothing Ken nor Rama nor Mama nor Papa can dream up entices Nana from her cozy nest, until she comes down with croup. Then Nana herself quickly takes the situation in hand and solving her own and everyone else's problem.

Bushra Junaid has used an innovative collage style to illustrate this warm family story which brings out the humor in the growing concern of this family faced with their recalcitrant grandmother.

ADWOA BADOE is a Ghanaian-born physician, storyteller, educator, writer and African dance instructor. She is the author of the novel Between Sisters, as well as several picture books, including The Pot of Wisdom, illustrated by Baba Wagué Diakité and Nana’s Cold Days, illustrated by Bushra Junaid.

Adwoa Badoe's profile page

An artist, curator, and arts administrator, Bushra Junaid was born in Montreal to Jamaican and Nigerian parents, and raised in St. John's, NL. She has exhibited her work across Canada, curated numerous exhibitions, and illustrated Adwoa Badoe's Nana's Cold Days (Groundwood Books, 2009). She lives and works in Toronto, ON.

Bushra Junaid's profile page

Adwoa Badoe's talent for storytelling shines through this book.

CM Magazine: Canadian Review of Materials

[Junaid] uses colourful collages of painted and printed papers, which effectively emphasize the humour of the story and the reactions of the characters.

Quill & Quire

Eye-catching, eclectic collage artwork by debut children's book illustrator Junaid...

Publishers Weekly