Mattie and Grandpa

Unnoticed by a grieving family, Grandpa rises from what appears to be his deathbed and takes young Mattie on a mysterious ramble. Their adventures develop from encounters with evocative images: a bridge that recedes the more you long to cross it, an elusive horse which is half-black and half-white, a buried treasure-chest rifled by the roots of a tree. But the greatest mystery of all is the way in which Grandpa keeps shrinking, until he's small enough to fit inside the boy's head. This is a touching, but unsentimental book about bereavement and life beyond it. Its message is skilfully conveyed through a story that fascinated my audience of 9-year-olds. Highly recommended.