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

Product Information

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. Woodgate's explosively colorful scenes center most of the book on the men, with snapshot after snapshot of their loving life together. 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.

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. 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. An effective tool for teaching empathy, and the intergenerational bond at the story's center is a heartstrings puller. Celebrate love in all its forms, as Grandad tells his granddaughter about the adventures he used to have with Gramps. 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.

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. They will then send a postcard home from Grandad and Gramps on their beach adventure before planning, drafting and editing a sequel for the book where Grandad and the little girl head off on their own campervan adventure. Every summer, the narrator of this heart-warming tale goes to stay with her grandad in his pretty old cottage by the sea. 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 illustrations are full of warmth, colour and joy, beautifully echoing the excitement of discovery and adventure. 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.

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. Readers are introduced to a young, brown-skinned, curly-haired protagonist on a visit to their White grandfather's cottage. This is an important text in terms of the representation of LGBTQIA+ relationships and portraying different family structures. VERDICT For the hope for new adventures, and the glimpse of intergenerational kindness and understanding, this lovely book should be on every shelf.

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.