John Vasey

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute picture book for young children. It is the size of a reader, so I think that it would also be suitable for children that are over the age of five to use as an Easy Reader.

**SPOILER ALERT**

The children, Thomas and Erin, accompany their Grandad on a trip into town by bus on Market Day. When Grandad remembers that it is not Market Day, he takes the children instead to a bookshop, then a flower shop, and window-shopping down the street. Grandad gets tired and wants to stop and enjoy a cup of tea, but the café is closed already. After the bus-ride home, they enjoy a walk beside the river and watch the sunset. Once the family nears home, Thomas sees his friends and is excited to tell them all about his "amazing adventures" with Grandad.

At the end of the book, there is a page for the child to "Draw a picture of your grandad". My nine-year old daughter was quite excited about this part of the book, and she loved that she could personalize the book in her own way. Kudos to Vasey for this creative idea!

The simple lesson that the book conveys is that just being with family is special. Even though they did not end up at the market, the children still enjoyed themselves because they were with their Grandad. I love this sentiment, and I would expect that most children would relate to it.

I love the illustrations of the scenery, especially the page of the sunset over the river. The pages are colourful and very engaging. I also love the style of font used for its handwritten feel. However, we did not particularly care for the faces of the illustrations of Grandad and the children. Specifically, the eyes of granddaughter Erin are big, black round spots which my three year-old thought made her look like a zombie!

Overall, we did like the book!

MY RATING: 3.5 stars (with the .5 star for the creative page at the end for the children to personalize the book with their own illustration!)… (más)