Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Readalikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Feb 2004, 128 pages
Paperback:
Jun 2005, 124 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
Magic hovers just beneath the surface in this unusual and moving story about the bond between a boy and his grandfather.
An unusual and moving story about the magical bond between a boy and his grandfather.
Does it just happen that Gavin and Grandad see the seal while they are fishing in the harbor? Just happen that Grandad talks about the selkies, the seal people who can leave the water and take human form? Just happen that Grandad is finishing the beautiful miniature boat he's making for Gavin's tenth birthday, and Gavin decides to call her Selkie? And at that moment, Grandad has his stroke. Could the selkies have something to do with all this
Day after day at the hospital, Gavin tries to get through to helpless and speechless Grandad, trying to reach him, explain what's happened to him. Everyone else has given up. But Gavin will try anything. Even asking the selkies to help. To do that, he must give them something to show them how much it matters. What is the dearest thing he owns?
Chapter 1
Gavin and Grandad were fishing for mackerel from the harbor wall when the seal popped its head out of the water. For a moment Gavin thought it was a loose net-float bobbing about. Then he saw the two eyes, large, round, and glistening black, staring straight at him. The thing rose a bit more and he saw the whiskery muzzle and knew what he was looking at.
He'd never seen a seal that close. They often came to Stonehaven but usually stayed farther out. What's more, though it must have seen Gavin, it didn't duck out of sight but stayed where it was, staring. Gavin stared straight back.
"It looks like Dodgem begging for handouts," he said.
(Dodgem was Gran's dog, a sort-of-bulldog. He looked tough, but was really a total wimp, and lazy and greedy with it. You couldn't imagine him dodging anything. Gavin's elder brother, Donald, swore he'd once seen him collide with an old woman with a walker, though he'd been moving slower than she ...
A lovely book that is well worth reading, and one that would be particularly apt for children coping with the serious illness of a family member, elderly or otherwise.
(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Full Review
(256 words).
This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access become a member today.
Peter Dickinson, born in
1927, has written more than fifty novels for
adults and young readers; and has won both
the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread
Children's Award twice.
He is a tall, elderly, bony, beaky, wrinkled
sort of fellow, with a lot of untidy gray
hair and a weird hooting voice – in fact he
looks and sounds a bit like Gandalf’s crazy
...
This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.
If you liked Inside Grandad, try these:
by Sharon M. Draper
Published 2012
Read ReviewsEleven-year-old Melody has a photographic memory. She's the smartest kid in her whole school - but no one knows it, because Melody can't talk. She can't walk. She can't write. Melody's story is one full of heartache and hope. Get ready to meet a girl whose voice you'll never, ever forget.
by Polly Dunbar, David Almond
Published 2011
Read ReviewsJoin a young girl and her dad as they find their wings and take to the skies in a joyful, quirky, tender tale from a masterful author and illustrator.
From a dazzling new literary voice, a debut novel about a Palestinian family caught between present and past.
About the book
A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza
A deeply moving story of love, identity and belonging--the first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker's new imprint.
Reader Reviews
If You See Me, Don't Say Hi by Neel Patel
Patel's stories introduce a bold and timely new literary voice.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends books that we believe to be best in class. Books that will whisk you to faraway places and times, that will expand your mind and challenge you -- the kinds of books you just can't wait to tell your friends about.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info & giveaways by email.
