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

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Every summer, the narrator of this heart-warming tale goes to stay with her grandad in his pretty old cottage by the sea. 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. For the hope for new adventures, and the glimpse of intergenerational kindness and understanding, this lovely book should be on every shelf.

So, their amazing granddaughter comes up with a clever plan to fix up the old camper and get Grandad excited to explore again. Readers are introduced to a young, brown-skinned, curly-haired protagonist on a visit to their White grandfather's cottage. This picture book, in which a girl helps her grandfather embrace life again following the death of Gramps, may well aid young readers in understanding others' grief.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. 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. The illustrations are full of warmth, colour and joy, beautifully echoing the excitement of discovery and adventure.

Discover a wonderful grandfather-granddaughter relationship, as a little girl hatches the perfect plan to get her Grandad adventuring again. 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. VERDICT For the hope for new adventures, and the glimpse of intergenerational kindness and understanding, this lovely book should be on every shelf.This is an important text in terms of the representation of LGBTQIA+ relationships and portraying different family structures. It was inspired by their university dissertation, which revealed a lack of representation for older LGBTQIA+ characters in children’s books. Before they were Grandad and Gramps, two young men, waving a rainbow flag from their pink VW bus, were a romantic couple, traveling the world-or at least Europe-together, camping under the stars. Grandad, white, and now balding, recounts their adventures to his young grandchild who hangs on every word. 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.

A touching tale about a girl’s relationship with her grandfather, which also evokes the wildness and beauty of the coast. 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.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. They will practice writing in the past progressive by creating captions for the photo album and develop their skill at writing questions in role as the little girl by interviewing Grandad about his campervan adventures.

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