Oh Ms. Graham, you sly thing!

Margaret Bloy Graham’s drawings seem so simple and straightforward, but WATCH OUT folks she’s the Master of the No-Shadow Punch!

By which I mean, she sneaks stuff in on you.

We’ve already seen her stick a peeing dog into a background.

Now let’s look at something a little less subtle, but oh so wonderful.

This is a detail from Harry and the Lady Next Door.

The Lady Next Door is at a party in Harry’s house and she keeps on singing! Harry starts a ruckus and is sent out.

Here we see the mother sending him out. The daughter is perfectly captured as she imitates her mother and presumably says, “Ooooh!”

But there’s something more. What’s happening in the background?

As cleverly mentioned in the text, Harry wasn’t the only one who dislikes the singing. That man in the background would like to get out of the party, too. So he’s whispering “The lucky dog!”

It’s all done so perfectly!

Next time: a very sneaky detail from Benjy shows that Graham was a modern woman.