Grandpa and Boy

This book contains three lighthearted and funny short stories about a Grandpa and Grandson as they share adventures in rural New Zealand, hunting, fishing and a bit of swearing!

This book is part of the ‘Joy Cowley Building Bridges’ series, written as high interest/low readability for readers from 8-12 years. This series is Dyslexia friendly, with cream coloured matt paper and large clear font with generous spacing. The text is broken up into short sentences, however Joy Cowley has masterfully written them in such a way that the stories still flow and are engaging to the reader. Teacher notes are available from the Clean Slate Press website.

Each story and double page spread in ‘Grandpa and Boy’ is illustrated in full colour by Toby Morris. Illustrated with expression that seems to capture the essence of the characters, cheeky Grandpa and the ‘all knowing’ Nan. Outlined in black, the illustrations have a ‘graphic novel’ feel that will appeal to the targeted readers.

Although this book is written with struggling readers in mind, it should not be limited to that group. It will be a much loved and enjoyed read for readers from 8+

Teacher notes are available: https://www.cleanslatepress.com/shop/product/grandpa-and-boy/

Title: Grandpa and Boy

Author: Joy Cowley

Illustrators: Toby Morris

Publisher: Clean Slate Press

ISBN: 978-0-947526-71-9

RRP: $10.90

Format: Paperback

Date of publication: 2019

Ages: 8 -12

Reviewer: Louana McCormack, Librarian, Opaheke School, Auckland

How highly are you recommending this book? Recommended

What’s the book’s opening sentence? “Darling,” Nan said to Grandpa, “I feel like a big fat snapper.”

You can buy this book here