Inside Grandad

By Peter Dickinson

Book Overview

An unusual and moving story about the magical bond between a boy and his grandfather. Does it just happen that Gavin and Grandad see the seal while they are fishing in the harbor? Just happen that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385746415
• ISBN13: 9780385746410
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.5" x 5.8"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

This book gets you inside a serious child's head

Grandpa is Gavin's favorite person in the world. They are on the same wavelength -- simple, quiet people who are happy getting miniature boats to look perfect. And then, right when Grandpa is teasing Gavin about a selkie -- a mythical creature that can transform from seal to human -- Grandpa has a stroke. Gavin knows it's ridiculous, but can't get over the nagging feeling that the stroke and the selkie are somehow related. But Gavin has much bigger things to worry about now -- like Grandpa. The old man just lies in the hospital, one arm limp like it's asleep, the other even worse. Where is Grandpa? Why isn't he getting better? If the physiotherapist doesn't see any improvement soon, Grandpa might spend the rest of his life in a hospital bed. Gavin knows there's nothing he can do, but at the same time he feels there's something he -- and maybe ONLY he -- can do, to save Grandpa. Author Peter Dickinson weaves a solemn tale, quietly told. There is something anachronistic about his sparse language (at least, to my American ears), about Gavin's self-sufficiency and about the fishing village where much of the story is set -- but things happen very much in the present (a couple of Harry Potter references will remind the reader of that). The topic is quiet heady -- the grave illness and slow recovery of a loved one. There are funny moments, particularly in the form of Grandma, a ridiculously chatty people-person who is the exact opposite of Grandpa and Gavin (much to their annoyance) and who reminds me all to well of my own grandmothers. There is also a touch of fantasy, so lightly woven into the story it will leave the reader wondering if Gavin is just imagining things until the very end. This would be an appropriate book to a mature 4th-6th grader wanting to tackle a somber subject with a hopeful, but uncertain ending.