Grandpa’s Stories: A Book of Remembering By Joseph Coelho, Illustrated by Allison Colpoys (2019) – Hardcover
Warning! I definitely cried when I first read through Grandpa’s Stories! My heart holds a special place for grandparents. And Joseph Coelho has created the most wonderful tribute to that magical bond between grandparents and their grandchildren that I’ve ever read. Coelho uses poetic prose to weave such a beautiful story of life and loss, which is a subject that unfortunately seems to be taboo in children’s stories. If you want an honest, heartfelt children’s book about death, this is the book for you. Or as Coelho tenderly notes in his dedication, this book is “for anyone that misses someone.”
A young Indian girl takes us on a journey through the seasons of the year and all of the special moments she shared with her loving grandpa. But her world is suddenly turned upside down the day that her beloved grandpa dies. As she goes through his belongings, the story then turns into a journey through grief as she learns to cope with the immense loss.
I have to point out that I really appreciate a scene in the book depicting the young girl playing with toy racing cars and a track. Girls can like cars too!
Illustrator Allison Colpoys uses a unique, almost neon color palette. The reason for the choice of vibrant colors is actually woven into the text. I’ll leave that as a surprise.
Take-away message: You’ll be left with such an uplifting message on how to cope with grief after loss: always remember the wonderful, happy and silly times spent together.
TAGS : Indian, South Asian, family, grandparents, coping with death, hardcover
