Grandpa's space adventure by Paul Newman

Ill. by Tom Jellett. Puffin Books, 2018. ISBN 9780143785569
(Ages: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Humour, Space, Camping, Fear of the dark. Following the warm hearted tale, "Grandpa's big adventure" (2016) comes another just as funny, warm and encompassing when his grandson reveals a secret, that he is afraid of the dark Taking this in his stride, Grandpa tells him that the dark allows them to see all the wonders of space and relates the story of when he went up into space, building a space ship in the back yard. He tells of all the things he did in space: looking at the dog star, throwing a stick for Rover but it didn't come back, avoiding the restaurant on the moon because of its lack of atmosphere and walking in space. Each story is full of humour and factual information which kids will love, initiating questions about space: was Rover the first dog in space, who first walked on the moon, as well as questions about the stars and planets. There are allusions to things the audience will know: the story of the cow that jumped over the moon, UFO's, floating in space and what to wear in space. And it will intrigue and delight, and kids will love the boy's losing his fear of the dark through Grandpa's marvellous story. Camping out doors with Grandpa is inventive and comforting and the readers will laugh out loud as Jellett's wonderful illustrations showing the range of things Grandpa did in space, along with his wise dog, Rover, and I can see lots of classes making the boy's space helmet after they read this book.
Fran Knight