Book details
These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
Benji Davies - Author
A tender, imaginative picture book about a child’s close bond with his grandfather and a puzzling journey that ends with Grandad staying elsewhere. Its colourful island setting contrasts with Syd’s return home alone.
Book Analysis
Sign in to see how this book fits your child and family preferences.
Sign in for personalised guidanceHow the book presents it: The book presents this favourably.
Talk about: Could Syd’s memories help him feel connected to Grandad even when they are apart?
Talk about: If Grandad is no longer at home, what might Syd need from the people around him?
How the book presents it: Imaginative travel is presented as a vivid shared experience and a way of expressing the relationship between Syd and Grandad.
Talk about: Which details make the island feel real, imagined, or both?
The book offers a gentle way into talking about missing someone, love and memories without directly naming death. Its open presentation may let families bring their own understanding to the ending.
Syd returns to a quiet house and misses Grandad, so the emotional weight may lie in absence rather than danger. The indirect ending could invite questions about what has happened.
What do you think Grandad’s island means, and how might Syd feel when he comes back to the quiet house? Does the note change your understanding of where Grandad is?
Look closely at the illustrations before explaining the story’s meaning. Pause when Grandad chooses to stay, then revisit the final note and invite several interpretations rather than supplying one answer.
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.
Limited information
Checked: 20 September 2026.
Relevant to: Love and memory; Separation and loss; Imagination and reality
Benefits, discussion questions and reading approaches are suggestions. Your knowledge of your child remains part of the decision.
Suitabook