Grandpa Saved the Day…Again!: Children’s Book Review. digital copy c/o publisher in exchange for review.
Code Pineapple has come out with another fabulously illustrated children’s book: Grandpa Saves the Day…Again! This one doesn’t disappoint. A little boy, Sam, is a bit bummed about having to spend the day with Grandpa Moose, but then crime-solving and adventure enters the story. Grandpa used ot be a police detective back in the day, so he and Sam head off to solve the mystery and …..you guessed it, grandpa saves the day.
I don’t want to write any spoilers, so I won’t go into details. However, I do want to talk about the illustrations. These wonderfully detailed watercolor illustrations are impressive in a day and age when so many kid’s literature seems overrun with clipart. As a painter myself, I love the pictures. Illustration makes a book work better for all ages, since not every child is old enough to follow the story line.
Grandpa Saved the Day…..Again! is a nice length and has plenty of activity to keep most kids entertained at bedtime. I find that to be a challenge sometimes, I want it to be an engaging story for them, but I also don’t want story time to drag out too long.
I really love the premise of this book. Often times, kids forget their elderly grandparents are people and had full lives before. As a society, we tend to do this. We sort of infantalize our elderly and stop treating them like autonomous people. Well, this grandpa challenges that notion and gains new respect from his grandson Sam.
There is no mention of Sam having a father present in his life. I like how this story shows a child can have a positive male role model in his life without it being awkwardly forced.
Overall, this story is very cute and it was a hit with my younger kids. My nine year old was particularly impressed with grandpa’s detective skills with the mud (which you will have to find out about by reading the book!)
Code Pineapple has published several children’s books including the Scaredy Bat series and The Legend of Pineapple Cove books. Their website also has activities for the kids as well as information for reading with your kids.