by Tanya Rosie
illustrated by Chuck Groenink
 
Grandpa is visiting! Grandpa is here! Grandpa is staying for the whole winter. A child’s initial shyness (after, we assume a gap in seeing each other) quickly melts away as Grandpa’s suitcase pops open with a waft of Persian spices and Nana’s fig jam. Grandpa may speak a different language (Farsi) from his grandchild but, together, they laugh, crack walnuts open and venture out in to the great outdoors to meet Malou the frog, climb Mount Sledge-Top and go stone-skimming. Grandpa will have to go away again. But for now, the house feels very full as, outside, snow begins to tumble softly down.
 
A grandchild’s appreciation of her beloved grandparent in the present. The rhyming, singing text is accompanied by illustrations which glow with a low, blurry, winter light and a palette of oranges, browns and golds. A familiar and reassuring story for any child who has a long-distance familial relationship. ‘Very evocative and relatable’ (Jayne, Primary Inclusion Manager, Letterbox Library Reviewer). [Mixed race white dad/Iranian mum]. Age 4-7, Paperback 32pp
 
Themes: Diverse Families