Grandad's Camper: A picture book for children that celebrates LGBTQIA+ families

Product Information

So, their amazing granddaughter comes up with a clever plan to fix up the old camper and get Grandad excited to explore again. The children begin the sequence of learning by exploring a dusty memory box from the attic which contains objects linked to Grandad’s memories of his time in the campervan with Gramps.

This debut picture book from award-winning author-illustrator Harry Woodgate won the British Book Awards Nibbie for Children's Illustrated Book of the Year and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, was shortlisted for the Polari Prize, and named as an ALA Stonewall Honor Book.

Harry Woodgate (they/them) is a multi-award-winning author and illustrator, whose debut picture book Grandad’s Camper won the British Book Awards Nibbie for Children's Illustrated Book of the Year and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, was shortlisted for the Polari Prize, and named as an ALA Stonewall Honor Book. The depiction of a loving, same-sex relationship between Grandad and Gramps, as well as the different ethnicities of the main characters, ensure this wonderfully inclusive book reflects a range of experiences, representative of today’s society. That leaves the child's role (and there is no mention of parents, or even that Grandad and Gramps had children) as brackets to the piece, only becoming an active part of the story at the end. VERDICT For the hope for new adventures, and the glimpse of intergenerational kindness and understanding, this lovely book should be on every shelf. This is an important text in terms of the representation of LGBTQIA+ relationships and portraying different family structures.

Waterstones Children's Book Award Winner and British Book Awards Nibbies Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year 2023! The book reflects on an aspect of mature gay life, a piercing sense of loss, and in the child, of the possibilities still to be found. As they look through photo albums, he talks fondly about how they travelled the world together in their beloved pink campervan. While there, the protagonist, who narrates, and their grandfather play the usual games and do the usual activities, but Grandad also tells stories about how he and Gramps, a man of color who is now deceased, met and fell in love while traveling in an old VW microbus.

Inspired by these tales, the narrator encourages Grandad to fix up the van, and the two take it for a road trip to the beach. A touching tale about a girl’s relationship with her grandfather, which also evokes the wildness and beauty of the coast. It was inspired by their university dissertation, which revealed a lack of representation for older LGBTQIA+ characters in children’s books.

The artwork is enticing and rich, and readers will be happy to pore over the pages studying details like Grandad's friendly dog and the textured backgrounds as they read and reread the story. Woodgate's explosively colorful scenes center most of the book on the men, with snapshot after snapshot of their loving life together. They will then send a postcard home from Grandad and Gramps on their beach adventure before planning, drafting and editing a sequel for the book where Grandad and the little girl head off on their own campervan adventure. A long time ago, Grandad and Gramps spent many happy days travelling the world together in a camper van. To do so, they enlist a groovy pink and white camper with a zippy blue stripe as a symbol of both the past and moving on.It is also a story that deals with grief and the importance of sharing memories about cherished people who have passed. Before they were Grandad and Gramps, two young men, waving a rainbow flag from their pink VW bus, were a romantic couple, traveling the world-or at least Europe-together, camping under the stars. Waterstones Children’s Book Award Winner and British Book Awards Nibbies Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year 2023! Every summer, the narrator of this heart-warming tale goes to stay with her grandad in his pretty old cottage by the sea. There are some fine picture books out there revolving around a child's experience of loss, but there aren't many designed to help kids understand someone else's grief.