Title: Bringing Back Grandpa
Author: Madhuri Kamat
Type: Paperback
Publisher: Duckbill
Age group: 8-12 years
When I started reading it, I thought it was a humorous book, but as I got glued to it I realised this book has covered so many sensitive topics.
Xerxes is a young boy who is extremely attached to his grandpa and can’t wait for him to recover soon. Grandpa is unwell and forgetful. He is suffering from memory loss and old age problems. Xerxes used to discuss every problem with his Grandpa and now he finds it extremely difficult to deal with his problems without the tips from his beloved Grandpa.
He faces bullying at school. All kind of mean tricks are played on him in school by the boys in his class. He feels helpless and low on confidence. He shared a great bond with his Grandpa and now he feels very lonely. He sees his parents are always worried due to grandpa’s illness and he is not able to open up his problems to them.
This book also portrays how it affects the child’s mental well being when an adult or a grandparent is sick at home and how the child has to deal with the stressful situation. Xerxes goes through many challenging situations. The book also focuses on gender role as for the fancy dress competition, Xerxes plays the role of a female character ‘Fearless Nadia’ who was an actress. He gets heavily trolled and bullied by his classmates.
Will he be able to cope up with such stressful situations while his parents are busy with work and his Grandpa’s illness? Will he help his Grandpa get better? Will he ever be able to make friends at school?
The story is quite relatable to many kids who would be going through similar situations.
It’s a good read for 8 years plus. The font is big and clear. Illustrations are wonderful too. The book is very interesting to read for both kids and adults.
Flying with Grandpa is the first book in this series.
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