Grandad's Island: Benji Davies

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What I thought was that this was just a magical book about a boy making a journey with his granddad in a magical boat or that it was a dream where a boy has a wonderful trip with his dear grandpa. A beautiful story containing a metaphor for death which may not be entirely obvious to younger children. The tropical paradise they discover serves as a substitute for Grandad's final resting place, and Syd sails back to the 'real' world alone.

However, with how the story portrays Grandad going to heaven, it deals with it in a sensitive way that children can understand and may help them not to be as worried.In Grandad’s Island, Syd knows that his Grandad will always be with him in his heart and in his imagination. It's illustrations and messages allow for this to be an ideal resource in initiating discussion and communicating the difficult messages in an understandable and relatable way.

Proficient readers bring a lot of assumptions to text, that young children need to be taught explicitly or else learn implicitly though wide reading and life experience. Grandad's island tells the tale of a boy and his grandfather adventuring to and from a mystery island, however when Grandad stays on the island Syd is left to navigate the world by himself. It does so in a way that I feel like a kid who hadn't lost anyone wouldn't pick up on it (There's no funeral or tears or sickness) but that a kid who had experience a loss might find resonance in the story. This book was so lovely and capture such a very special journey between a grandfather and his grandson.The immense and heavy subject of death is handled so honestly and blatantly for children in this book, that it almost become less of a sadness and more of a beautiful fact of life. The metaphor is not very explicit which means the book could simply be used as a nice read-aloud story for younger readers or explored more deeply with older children. Sem nunca os desligar totalmente da realidade da partida da pessoa de quem gostam, explicar que estão num lugar melhor, mesmo que seja uma ilha imaginária, pode tornar todo o processo um pouco mais fácil nas suas cabeças ainda tão jovens.

Whilst appropriate for use with children in KS1, who may not even realise there is a metaphor for death contained within the story, the book could also be used with children in KS2 as a starting point for a PSHE lesson about bereavement. Since death isn't directly specified, this title also works for when a child's loved one is moving far away. While I respect that, and am glad for those who find solace in Benji Davies' story, I have to confess that something about the formulation here just didn't work for me. This book, along with its fantastic illustrations, tackles the difficult subject of losing a grandparent in a sensitive and subtle way.Overall, although this book deals with a difficult topic it's still an excellent resource in any KS1 primary classroom! A lovely story about the relationship between Syd and his Grandad and their adventure to a fantastical island. Visiting Grandad's house at the bottom of the garden again, he finds it just the same as it's always been - except that Grandad isn't there anymore. After the phenomenal success of The Storm Whale and On Sudden Hill, this new book by Benji Davies deals with the emotional topic of losing a grandparent. A touching and comforting book that could be used to deal with the loss of a grandparent, as well as a good every day read.

Benji Daviesin "Vaarin saari" (Karisto, 2016) on kaunis kuvakirja, jossa käsitellään vertauskuvallisesti isoisän kuolemaa, ilman minkäänlaista uskonnollista leimaa tai painolastia. From the praise I have seen heaped upon Gradad's Island by other online reviewers, it would seem that the narrative here works very well for most readers, allowing them to explore the idea of death, and of parting from a loved one, in an imaginative and helpful way.As a child, Benji knew that when he grew up he either wanted to make films or draw pictures in books.