My fourth book for O’Brien was in the Flyers Series – one up from the Panda series, which the other three (Katie’s Caterpillars, Katie’s Cake and The Big Brother) were in. These books are designed for more confident readers, have smaller type and more words per page.

Here’s how Dubray Books of Ireland summarised it: ‘It’s not fair!’ Anna doesn’t have a granny. All her friends have at least one. Grannies are great. They buy you treats and take you on special trips. So Anna decides to draw a pretend secret granny. Imagine her surprise when Granny steps out of her picture and comes to life! Having a secret granny is fun – and full of surprises.

Anna manages to keep Granny a secret from Mum, but it’s tricky. And she soon trains her up to be a really great Granny, although that backfires slightly. But then Mum gives Anna framed photos of her two real grandmas, and secret Granny takes a back seat. Finally she tells Anna it’s time she moved on to find another child who needs a pretend Granny for a while. So Anna draws her a nice shiny red car, and Granny drives off into the sunset …

Anna’s Secret Granny was inspired by the fact that my kids don’t have a granny or a grandad. Not having a grandparent is a huge hole in a child’s life, but sadly that’s how things worked out for my three. So this book was for them.

Philip Morrison’s pictures are cheery and fun. This is a nice little book.