The artwork is enticing and rich, and readers will be happy to pore over the pages studying details like Grandad's friendly dog and the textured backgrounds as they read and reread the story. That leaves the child's role (and there is no mention of parents, or even that Grandad and Gramps had children) as brackets to the piece, only becoming an active part of the story at the end. This beautiful picture book honors love and reminds us not only to remember those we have lost, but to celebrate them. To do so, they enlist a groovy pink and white camper with a zippy blue stripe as a symbol of both the past and moving on.

This poignant tale acknowledges the sadness of losing a loved one, but also celebrates the pleasure of remembering those who have touched our lives. Readers are introduced to a young, brown-skinned, curly-haired protagonist on a visit to their White grandfather's cottage. I purchased this book for my ten year old girls who have outgrown picture books a bit but the stunning illustrations inspired them as little artist and they absolutely loved the story an the characters. Grandad, white, and now balding, recounts their adventures to his young grandchild who hangs on every word.Inspired by these tales, the narrator encourages Grandad to fix up the van, and the two take it for a road trip to the beach. But what our protagonist/narrator most likes to do is to snuggle up with her Grandad and listen to stories if his adventures with Gramps. Woodgate's explosively colorful scenes center most of the book on the men, with snapshot after snapshot of their loving life together. Discover a wonderful grandfather-granddaughter relationship, as a little girl hatches the perfect plan to get her Grandad adventuring again.

When Grandad reflects back on his life with Gramps, his memories take the visual form of vignettes showing the younger versions of the men--Grandad white, Gramps with the same brown skin tone as the girl--on the road, at home, or enjoying the great outdoors, but always delighted to be together. Every summer, the narrator of this heart-warming tale goes to stay with her grandad in his pretty old cottage by the sea. Waterstones Children’s Book Award Winner and British Book Awards Nibbies Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year 2023!

Still, there is a wholesome gentility to every page, of enjoying every minute, even in memory, of growing sweet cherries in the garden, and of filling a home with mementos and stories. The depiction of a loving, same-sex relationship between Grandad and Gramps, as well as the different ethnicities of the main characters, ensure this wonderfully inclusive book reflects a range of experiences, representative of today’s society. The story is really lovely and delicately handles the issue of death and also helped me to discuss different family set ups with my daughter in a fun and age appropriate way.

I love that it is an intergenerational story in which a grandchild and grandfather are just loving spending time together. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Oh I do wish such books were around when I was a kid, wondering why I was different and who (if anyone) I could tell. This is the story of a small girl who loves visiting her Grandad and rummaging through the artefacts from his travels.Harry Woodgate (they/them) is a multi-award-winning author and illustrator, whose debut picture book Grandad’s Camper won the British Book Awards Nibbie for Children's Illustrated Book of the Year and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, was shortlisted for the Polari Prize, and named as an ALA Stonewall Honor Book. The little girl can see how much her Grandad loved travelling and how much he loved Gramps, and asks him why he doesn't travel any more, but Grandad just can't see the point without Gramps. Waterstones Children's Book Award Winner and British Book Awards Nibbies Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year 2023! Following this, children create expanded noun phrases to enhance their descriptive writing and use these to support them in writing poetry about an object which holds a special memory to them. Immediately on opening the book you are greeted with the most breathtaking bucolic scene across the endpapers as Grandad and Gramps drive rambling hills in their pink camper van.