Frank Davenport was named after his father, his grandfather, and probably his great-grand father; however, unlike his father, he doesn't spend his days involved in dodgy deals and running from people he owes money to. He spends his time on his own as he's just moved schools (after the family had to relocate quickly to avoid the loan sharks). He isn't looking forward to the summer holidays with no friends to spend it with, that is until Mr Foster from J L Winterson solicitors turns up on the doorstep with news: Nora Louise Davenport (the step-grandmother he didn't know he had) has left the sum of £462,000 to Frank Davenport. Frank's dad is incredibly excited until Mr Foster announces that the money has been left to Frank John Davenport and, in the blink of an eye, the eleven-year-old has become incredibly rich. He has also been entrusted to use the money to look after the grandfather (Frank), he didn't know he had. Whilst his parents argue about the mistake (they believe it should have gone to Frank James Davenport), Frank makes his way to Autumnal Leaves Residential Home where his grandpa lives. There he finds a man who is miserable and obviously still missing his dead wife. Frank decides that the only way to help his grandfather is to create a bucket list of things for them to do together. But can Frank bring some happiness back into to his grandfather's life and can he bring his father and grandfather back together again?
As a child, I always had a grandpa and my son knows my dad as Grandpa (or Gramps) and it's always frustrated me that I can never find cards that say Grandpa on them so I was sold by the title of this book alone. There, I should qualify, is where the similarities between Grandpa Frank and my dad end, although I suspect that he would be up for all the bucket list activities in the book if my son smiled sweetly at him. In fact, I'd love to see him in a sequined full-body swimsuit (not certain the rest of the world would be though). Anyway, I digress, Grandpa Frank's Great Big Bucket List is a triumph of a book full of laughs, antics and intuitively written characters. The dialogue feels real and has just the right level of sarcasm.
Grandpa Frank is a grumpy man who is clearly mourning his wife and doesn't particularly relish the intrusion from this eleven-year-old who doesn't seem to accept that his grandpa just wants to be left alone to be miserable in his grief. His innocence in his ideas and his approach to the bucket list project is perfect and leaves his grandpa with no choice but to get involved - sometimes I wish the innocence we had in our childhood didn't have to leave us.
In amongst the laughs and the adventures, Jenny manages to perfectly weave some weighty and often difficult topics: dementia, family conflict and financial troubles are all issues that can have a big impact on children's lives and the book will help them to make sense of them.
With illustrations from David O'Connell, Grandpa Frank's Great Big Bucket List is a book for children of all ages, for those who are young and those who are still young at heart. It's a book for those who need to laugh and a book for those who need to remember how to live again - in short, it's a book that everyone will enjoy, and I plan to pass it to my dad as soon as I can (whether he ever dons a sparkly swim-suit is anybody's guess).
As part of the blog tour, I am delight to welcome Jenny to my blog with her piece about grandparents in children's fiction:
Grannies
& Grandads in Children’s Fiction
I do love a story with a good grandparent character, I think
this might be because I was blessed with four rather fabulous grandparents of
my own. I very much enjoyed writing about Grandpa Frank, who although a bit
grumpy, has a dry sense of humour and a whole lot of love to give. I’d like to
think that my Grandad Browne, known to his friend down south as Geordie, would
chuckle to see a little bit of him in the book.
I have chosen three of my favourite books that feature some
exceptional fictional oldies.
Greta and The Ghost Hunters by Sam Copeland
The master of heart and humour’s newest triumph features
Grandfather and Grandmother Woebegone. Grandmother Woebegone believes she can
speak to ghosts when she can’t. Grandfather Woebegone is a ghost who, at
the beginning of the story, had had quite enough of his wife’s prattling on.
Amongst the characteristic Copeland hi-jinx and humour that sees Greta on a
quest to save both her grandparents with some unusual companions, this is a much
deeper tale about love, acceptance and moving on.
The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson
This is one of those stories that stays with you long after
you have read it. Twelve-year-old Marinka leaves with her Grandmother, Baba
Yaga in a house that travels on chicken legs. Together, they hold parties with
the spirits of the dead who Baba Yaga guides though the Gate to the afterlife.
The character of Baba Yaga, is wise, caring and strong – I think all the
characteristics of a wonderfully authentic grandmother.
Granny by Anthony Horrowitz
This story depicts a grandmother who is absolutely the
opposite to what we expect a warm and loving grandmother to be. She is a
fantastically frightful character who has the ability to make you physically
shudder. Poor Joe, who is ignored by his parents hopes to find solace at his
grandmother’s, but she is cantankerous and demanding– expecting that she should
get her own way all the time because of her advancing years. She is also
terribly mean and venomous, albeit witty too. I heard that Horrowitz based
Granny on his own grandmother – goodness!
Anisha Accidental Detective: Granny Trouble
The brilliantly funny series by Patel features the
mischievous and larger than life character, Granny Jas. Granny Jas goes on the
family trip to Leicester armed with an enormous stack of Tupperware to bring
back lots of tasty food but ends up as prime suspect in a diamond robbery. Granny
Jas is such a joyful character across this series. She is feisty, funny and has
a tendency to overcook (much like my own Granny), but what is truly lovely is
the absolute faith she has in Anisha.
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