Inside Grandad [Hardcover]

Peter Dickinson (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

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 Grandad talks about the selkies, the seal people who can leave the water and take human form? Just happen that Grandad is finishing the beautiful miniature boat he’s making for Gavin’s tenth birthday, and Gavin decides to call her Selkie? And at that moment, Grandad has his stroke. Could the selkies have something to do with all this?

Day after day at the hospital, Gavin tries to get through to helpless and speechless Grandad, trying to reach him, explain what’s happened to him. Everyone else has given up. But Gavin will try anything. Even asking the selkies to help. To do that, he must give them something to show them how much it matters. What is the dearest thing he owns?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Many of Dickinson's best stories, such as Eva (1988), are set on the edge between the ordinary and the magical, and in this small book his simple, beautiful words once again root the fantasy in real places and daily routine. The most important person in 11-year-old Gavin's life is his grandfather, but after a severe stroke, Grandad lies in the hospital bed totally unresponsive. Gavin tries everything to reach his beloved companion, but to no avail. The boy feels meaningless, exhausted--until, with the help of a mythical selkie, he finds himself inside his grandfather's thoughts, talks to Grandad, and brings him back, at least for the moment. The fantasy works well; the bond between Gavin and Grandad is understated, yet so deep that the boy and his beloved relative can easily imagine one another's lives. They remember--and Gavin will always remember--their times together at the ocean, on the edge between sea and shore, where they glimpsed what might have been a selkie. The love and grief in the story will touch many readers. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Inside Flap

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 Grandad talks about the selkies, the seal people who can leave the water and take human form? Just happen that Grandad is finishing the beautiful miniature boat he?s making for Gavin?s tenth birthday, and Gavin decides to call her Selkie? And at that moment, Grandad has his stroke. Could the selkies have something to do with all this?

Day after day at the hospital, Gavin tries to get through to helpless and speechless Grandad, trying to reach him, explain what?s happened to him. Everyone else has given up. But Gavin will try anything. Even asking the selkies to help. To do that, he must give them something to show them how much it matters. What is the dearest thing he owns?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books (February 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385746415
• ISBN-13: 978-0385746410
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,724,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Hovering on the Edge of Magic, September 9, 2011

By 

Sir Furboy (Aberystwyth, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inside Grandad (Paperback)

This is an enchanting short work by one of the main stays of UK Children's fiction.

Gavin and his grandfather are putting together a beautiful model boat that will be for the boy's 11th birthday. Asked what he will call the boat, Gavin suggests "Selkie" - they were fishing and saw a seal, so Grandad had been talking about Selkies. And then, out of the blue, grandad collapses witha major stroke.

The rest of the book describes Gavin's journey to help his grandfather overcome the stroke and return to him, with just a little help from the Selkie.

This is a moving tale sensitively written. There is a hint of magic here - just enough to enchant. I was put in mind of Skellig by David Almond as I was reading, although one tale does not borrow from the other - they are both their own stories.

This book is worth reading. Peter Dickinson does not do fairy tale endings, but this book is a positive one - and ultimately it is more about Gavin than grandad. Something of a coming of age tale, and a recommended read.

4.0 out of 5 stars This book gets you inside a serious child's head, August 26, 2009

By 

E. Kennen (Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inside Grandad (Paperback)

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.