What Do You Call Your Grandpa?

What Do You Call Your Grandpa? by Ashleigh Barton, illustrated by Martina Heiduczek (ABC Books) RRP HB $17.99 ISBN 9780733340864

Reviewed by Kylie Buckley

What Do You Call Your Grandpa? is a picture book written in rhyming verse designed to entertain and inform young readers.

The book introduces us to a variety of children and their grandfathers from all over the world and presents us with the word for ‘grandpa’ in different languages. Each page turn is met with a four-line paragraph written in rhyming couplets about a new little boy or girl and their grandpa. The couplets create great rhythm and rhyme throughout the book as well as providing welcome assistance to the reader to pronounce the grandpa’s name correctly in the different languages. The illustrations are colourful and textured and beautifully depict the diverse range of settings. The final page provides a glossary of all the names and the corresponding language/countries they derive from. 

What Do You Call Your Grandpa? celebrates cultural diversity, individuality, families, and love. The book depicts the special bond grandfathers share with their grandchildren while highlighting the fact that every grandpa and relationship is unique.