Just Like Grandpa Jazz by Tara L Gear

Such a magical story being told by Grandpa Jazz and all his adventures to his grandson.
We absolutely loved the giant snails!
This story opened up some lovely conversations between Matthew and the family. Asking about their lives and where they had been and did they have any treasures they kept along the way.
Matthew also found it very sad when Grandpa is talking about the boat ride and that they wouldn’t be together on the boat, because their skin colour is different.

The illustrations in this book are just so bright and colourful and really inviting.
We loved watching the live yesterday with Alex and Tarah and talking about all the swirls on the edges of the pages, making them magical, like a dream. So many little details, that every time we read we are finding new things we didn’t see before.
Overall a truly lovely book

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story with my 2 year old, she loved the colourful illustrations and charming imagery, especially the smily snails leaving their trails on the road! It’s a fun story that captured her attention and later we hope to use it to open up a first conversation about immigration as her great Grandpa was an immigrant who worked for the NHS, just like Grandpa Jazz.

Just like little Frank, I am the granddaughter of an immigrant who liked to tell lots of tall stories, and so this book was an absolute must for us! In this book Frank retells the stories his Grandpa Jazz had told him about his home, his travels and how he came to work for the NHS in the UK. His stories range from magical and funny about volcanos and pet dogs, to serious topics such as how the ship he took to the UK was segregated. Frank feels sad about this as he realises it means he would not have been allowed to be with his Grandpa on the ship. I feel this book is a great way to talk about migration with young children, as this story clearly shows how we should celebrate diversity, and that sharing in eachothers heritages and stories adds to our own cultures. It's also a great opener to get children asking questions about their own family history. The book also has beautiful artwork which adds to the magic of Grandpa Jazz's stories!

We loved this book and the gorgeous relationship between Grandpa Jazz and Frank. It opened up talk of migration within our own family. The surprise for Frank at the end was brilliant and we loved his matchy matchy outfits.

A lovely story about the relationship between a boy and his Grandpa.
I loved hearing about Grandpa Jazz' collection of random things, I too am a collector of random things that other people may not see a worth in.
My 7 year old loved hearing about Grandpa Jazz' tale about the giant snails appearing on the roads when it rains where he comes from. He showed a real interest in the illustrations on those pages and hasn't stopped talking about the giant snila since reading the book.
The story shows that even though people may have differences they can still come together through shared interests.