Dear Grandpa, Did you know that if you rub a needle with a magnet, one end will point to the north, and the other end to the south?
Dear Grandpa by Kate Simpson and Ronojoy Ghosh is a delightful story told through letter writing between a young boy and his grandfather
The story begins with a letter from a young boy named Henry to his grandpa. Readers will learn that he has just moved to the city and is hoping that his Grandpa comes to visit soon.
As the page turns a letter is written from Grandpa to Henry telling him which ice cream he would love to have with Henry when he comes to visit one day.
As each page turns we learn more about Henry and Grandpa, facts about the world and the concept of distance.
Through literal and figurative language the story explores growing up, the quirkiness of grandparents and the joy of relationships.
Each letter is short in words yet full of so much more with the accompanying illustrations.
Children will be able to use their skills of visual literacy to explore more about Henry and Grandpa beyond words and through the meaning they can create through looking.
The joy of letter writing oozes out of the pages, the anticipation of waiting for the letter to arrive and the happiness we can sense through the time taken to write the words.
Teachers can use this book to explore so many different ideas – so read away!
Teacher ideas
- Visual Literacy – what do we know without the pictures? With the pictures? Without the words. Explore this and then join together to see how illustration and words in a picture book pair so well.
- Letter writing – how does a letter change from a diary entry? Or just a story? Write this book as a story or even a diary entry and explore how the narrative changes.
- Other books that use letter writing to tell a story – Yours Troolie, Alice Toolie by Kate and Jol Temple AND Birthday Wars by Kate and Jol Temple
- Where does Henry live? How about Grandpa? Explore the distances and how long it would take by car, foot, train, plane etc!
