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Grandpa's Great Escape
by David Walliams
Jack's grandfather thinks he is still flying Spitfires, so when he is put in a sinister care home, Jack plans the escape as a mission.
A story about children and families, funny and moving in tone. We would put it with children of 8–11, and at a reading age of about 9 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Serious illness
- A death or grief
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Our take on this book
Jack's beloved grandpa, a former Spitfire pilot, is slipping into confusion and is packed off to a sinister old people's home run by the terrifying Miss Swine — so Jack mounts a daring rescue, and the two of them stage one last great escape together. David Walliams writes in the broad, warm-hearted, Dahl-influenced tradition, mixing big laughs and cartoonish villains with a genuinely touching core — here, the love between a boy and his grandfather, and the sadness of watching someone you love change. Tony Ross's illustrations keep it lively, and the peril and villainy are pantomime-broad rather than distressing. There is real tenderness underneath the comedy, touching gently on ageing and loss. For an eight- to eleven-year-old it is an accessible, funny, surprisingly moving read — the kind of hugely popular story that pulls in reluctant readers with the laughs and then quietly gives them something to feel.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
Gangsta GrannyDavid Walliams
Mr StinkDavid Walliams
Double ActJacqueline Wilson
The Bed and Breakfast StarJacqueline Wilson
Boy OverboardMorris Gleitzman
MillionsFrank Cottrell-Boyce
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.