Customer Reviews

Inside Grandad

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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.

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.