Grandad's Island: Benji Davies

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Reading Grandad’s Island by Benji Davies allowed my inquiring Year 2 class to explore a fascinating new world and prompted me to remember two very special men…

My mum looked at me, with tears in her eyes, then nodded with determination and, thankfully, seamlessly carried on reading to the children, while I turned away and dried my eyes. How to assess and analyse ways in which pupils respond to stories, poems and plays’ by Michael Rosen

I asked my children if they thought Grandad would return and almost all of them thought that no, he was happy on his island and the big, metal door in the attic had vanished anyway. Syd hugged Grandad one last time. He would miss him very much. They were impressed too with Grandad’s painting and expressed their own longing to visit the island and play in the tumbling, cascading waterfalls with Syd. This group of lessons has probably been one of the highlights of my teaching career so far. Firstly, I think this is because it was my first successful attempt at carrying out whole class reading over a sustained amount of time (about six weeks). We use VIPERS, created by The Literacy Shed, to help develop our sessions and I felt that I had implemented this structure effectively. Secondly, the children really enjoyed the story, which created a shared excitement and buzz within the classroom. If you’re interested in whole class reading and using picture books in your own class, these resources, articles and books may be useful: I never got a chance to say goodbye to my Grandads. I like to think that both of them are somewhere on an island faraway, where the waterfalls cascade and a large chimpanzee serves them tea, or maybe even a ‘Footballer’s Dinner’. Perhaps I’ll see them again one day.

The book certainly developed what Michael Rosen calls ‘intratextual skills’ or ‘harvesting’ – the ability to relate one part of the text to another and find clues along the way. One boy was beside himself to discover that he had already seen the animals helping to build the shelter…in Grandad’s attic!I was completely stumped. Why was I crying? I felt embarrassed, flustered, hot and like I had lost control.

I managed to compose myself and, on reaching the end of the story, when Syd receives a mysterious envelope, asked the children what they thought might be in the envelope. “A letter from Grandad!” they chorused. It had to be! They soon set about writing their own letters in the role of Grandad and it was at this point that I had to leave the classroom. Once again, I had started crying. I sat in the toilets for a while sobbing, feeling very foolish. When I returned, under the expert guidance of my Mum and an LSA, my Year 2 class had begun to compose their letters from Grandad to Syd, writing things like:His first self-penned picture book The Storm Whale, since hailed a modern classic, won the inaugural Oscar’s Book Prize and was Dutch Picture Book Of The Year. His second, Grandad’s Island, garnered similar plaudits, winning the children’s book category of the AOI World Illustration Awards and being crowned Children’s Book of the Year at the Sainsbury’s Children’s Book Awards. He won Oscar's Book Prize for a second time with Tad, a story about a tadpole making its way in the big, wide pond. All three of these books have since been adapted for the stage. Benji’s books can been read in over forty languages and have sold many millions of copies around the world. What the book allowed me to do is open up my own attic of memories, prompting me to remember both my Grandads. They were very special to me and were the embodiment of safety, love and family. Grandad Eagleton taught me to laugh, collected conkers for us and told us not to worry about anything (“If worrying did me any good, I’d do it all the time!”). I have a clear memory of him helping with the washing up after Grandad Allen’s funeral and making jokes with an aunt. His easy ways, laughter and warmth were just what was needed on a difficult day. We used to enjoy playing hairdressers with Grandad Allen (who was pretty much bald!), whilst he watched the horse racing. He used to make my Nan laugh a lot. I remember him introducing me to his ‘Footballer’s Dinner’ – mash potatoes with a fried egg on top. I felt very grown up and loved when I got to sit next to him at the dinner table and have my own ‘Footballer’s Dinner”. I know they were both very proud of us, loved my family dearly and left a terrible hole in the fabric of our family life when they died.