These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
John Burningham - Author
A tender, unconventional picture book about a grandfather and granddaughter enjoying imaginative and ordinary moments together. Its final images rely on pictures and silence rather than a fully explained ending.
Granpa and the girl share ordinary experiences and imaginative games; he joins her play and responds to her questions across separate scenes.FavourableFavourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.Favourable: the book presents this theme approvingly or positively.
How the book presents it: Their bond is presented warmly through mutual attention, humour and participation, although much of its emotional meaning is conveyed by the illustrations.
Talk about: Which shared moments best show what the relationship means to each of them?
Loss and what remains after it
Near the end, the girl looks silently at Granpa’s empty chair, inviting reflection on loss and what remains.AmbiguousAmbiguous: the book leaves its position open to more than one reasonable reading.Ambiguous: the book leaves its position open to more than one reasonable reading.
How the book presents it: The ending clearly presents absence and invites reflection on loss, but it does not explain death, beliefs about it or what happens afterwards.
Talk about: If Granpa has died, what might the girl remember or carry forward from their time together?
Pictures, questions and interpretation
The text moves between Granpa’s comments and the girl’s questions, while the illustrations connect or complicate the separate moments.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The form encourages readers to infer relationships and events rather than follow a continuous, fully narrated plot.
Talk about: How does the picture alter or add to what the words say in each scene?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
This may help a child explore what makes a close family relationship feel special, while also opening space for different feelings about losing someone. The book leaves important meanings for conversation rather than supplying definite answers.
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What Deserves Attention
The ending may be emotionally difficult, particularly for a child who has recently experienced bereavement. The scattered structure may also feel confusing without help linking pictures and words.
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A Conversation Worth Having
What do you think is happening in the last pictures? Which moments show how Granpa and the girl care for each other, and what might the empty chair mean to her?
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Reading Approach
Read the pictures as carefully as the words, pausing between scenes to ask what each person may be thinking. Before the final pages, allow space for questions; afterwards, follow the child’s own understanding rather than imposing one.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
A loving grandparent-grandchild relationship: The short, discontinuous scenes do not establish a complete account of their wider family life.
Loss and what remains after it: The ending is presumed rather than verbally confirmed, and the book does not show how the girl’s feelings develop afterwards.
Pictures, questions and interpretation: Some scenes and changes of context are deliberately oblique, so a single interpretation cannot be established from the words alone.
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