Grandad's Camper: A picture book for children that celebrates LGBTQIA+ families

Product Information

She loves to examine the fabulous knick-knacks he has collected on his travels and play hide and seek in his amazing garden.

Readers are introduced to a young, brown-skinned, curly-haired protagonist on a visit to their White grandfather's cottage. 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. The children begin the sequence of learning by exploring a dusty memory box from the attic which contains objects linked to Grandad’s memories of his time in the campervan with Gramps. The illustrations are full of warmth, colour and joy, beautifully echoing the excitement of discovery and adventure. This debut picture book from award-winning author-illustrator Harry Woodgate 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.

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. For the hope for new adventures, and the glimpse of intergenerational kindness and understanding, this lovely book should be on every shelf. 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. Roo loves staying with her grandfather in his cottage by the sea and enjoys listening to his wonderful stories. The book reflects on an aspect of mature gay life, a piercing sense of loss, and in the child, of the possibilities still to be found.

Waterstones Children’s Book Award Winner and British Book Awards Nibbies Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year 2023! Grandad, white, and now balding, recounts their adventures to his young grandchild who hangs on every word.Spelling Seeds have been designed to complement Writing Roots by providing weekly, contextualised sequences of sessions for the teaching of spelling that include open-ended investigations and opportunities to practise and apply within meaningful and purposeful contexts, linked (where relevant) to other areas of the curriculum and a suggestion of how to extend the investigation into home learning. Caregivers, especially older ones, may see this book as an opportunity to talk about departed loved ones and introduce their happy memories to a younger generation-many a family will find themselves pulling out photo albums to relate their own origin stories.

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. This beautiful picture book honors love and reminds us not only to remember those we have lost, but to celebrate them. The art throughout Grandad's Camper is dashing, the layouts somehow chockablock and yet never too busy. As they look through photo albums, he talks fondly about how they travelled the world together in their beloved pink campervan. A touching tale about a girl’s relationship with her grandfather, which also evokes the wildness and beauty of the coast.Woodgate's explosively colorful scenes center most of the book on the men, with snapshot after snapshot of their loving life together. A long time ago, Grandad and Gramps spent many happy days travelling the world together in a camper van. An effective tool for teaching empathy, and the intergenerational bond at the story's center is a heartstrings puller.

So, their amazing granddaughter comes up with a clever plan to fix up the old camper and get Grandad excited to explore again. While there, the protagonist, who narrates, and their grandfather play the usual games and do the usual activities, but Grandad also tells stories about how he and Gramps, a man of color who is now deceased, met and fell in love while traveling in an old VW microbus. Every summer, the narrator of this heart-warming tale goes to stay with her grandad in his pretty old cottage by the sea. This is a quiet story that speaks volumes, and astute educators and storytellers will be able to use the book in both intimate storytimes and with larger groups. It's so important that little ones grow up and see their type of family set-up reflected in the books you share with them.

Her favourite pastime, however, is to snuggle up with Grandad while he shares tales of his past adventures with Gramps. There are some fine picture books out there revolving around a child's experience of loss, but there aren't many designed to help kids understand someone else's grief. 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.