Young Ben is the quiet hero of this story. His beautiful grandmother has died and Grandpa Joe is very deeply sad. So sad he cannot get off the couch and he does not respond to Ben's attempts to get him engaged, even though Ben visits nearly ever day. Ben knows his grandfather had a special interest in, and love of butterflies. Ben hatches a plan to help his grandfather. He buys a butterfly kit but this process will take time from egg to caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly and time is something Ben doesn't have because mum and dad think Joe now needs to go into care. They plan to sell his grandpa's house very soon.
The family structure in this book is a little complex but that adds to the emotion of the story. Take another look at the title formatting. You can see "FOR" in capitals and bold. The butterflies are more than a gift they are the key to helping Grandpa Joe find his way again.
You can read the first chapter of this book on the Barrington Stoke web site.
This is a beautiful story. Nicola Davies has captured that special bond across the generations that so frequently exists between grandparents and their grandchildren. Ben loves his grandpa and Grandpa Joe loves Ben too but grief has left the old man unable to display this love anymore. I admired Ben’s determination to try to help. Library Lady
If you have not yet discovered these little easy chapter books from Barrington Stoke can I recommend you head off to your local bookshop or library. I have read quite a few of them now and they are all terrific. If work in a school library these books should be an essential edition to your collection.
After reading this book your young reader might be curious about the life cycle of butterflies. In your library head to the non fiction shelves [598.78]. These books are well worth exploring:
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