Book Tour: GRANDAD'S PRIDE review + interview with Harry Woodgate

 

Book Details

Title: Grandad's Pride
Author: Harry Woodgate
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Genre(s): Childrens, LGBT, Picture Book
Pages: 32
Bookshop Purchase Link: https://bookshop.org/a/67041/9781499814620

     

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Reading Details

Finish Date: March 17, 2023
Format: Digital
Representation: Gay
Trigger/Content Warnings: Mention of death

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Rating: 5/5

Favorite Quote/Scene: 
Pride Parade

Review: 
I read and absolutely loved Grandad's Camper so I was super excited when I saw the tour opportunity for this book pop up. I immediately signed up and was thrilled when I was selected to not just host a spot, but to also interview the author.

This book is gorgeous! The art in it is absolutely beautiful and I love that I was finding something new in the illustrations everytime that I flipped the book open. The colors are vivid and bright and just what I wanted from a book about a small town pride parade.

The story for this book is simple (it is a children's picture book) but beautifully done. I love that the whole town got into hosting the parade and I also love just the casual inclusion of everyone. I will admit one line made me cry though.

This is just a beautiful book. Story and art wise. I highly recommend reading it (and Grandad's Camper) especially if you have young kids.

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When did you first get started with writing?

I’ve always loved writing and throughout school I’d write and illustrate my own stories and comics, print them out on the photocopier and staple them together so they looked like ‘real’ books. It was at university that I then began writing with the intention of getting published, and Grandad’s Camper was the result of that.

What does your writing process look like?

As an illustrator I find I’m often drawn to the visual aspects of a story, such as a distinctive character, an object, a scene which forms the inciting event or climax of the plot, or a setting where everything takes place. For Grandad’s Pride this was the moment where Milly discovers Grandad’s Pride flag in the attic. From there, I usually begin by writing a rough first draft of the text, before sketching out storyboards for the illustrations. In general, I tend to overwrite with early drafts of a story, and then work backwards to translate elements of the text into the illustrations until the two complement each other in a way that feels balanced.

Why write children's books?

Children’s books are the books that make us readers. They’re the books that accompany us as we figure out who we are, and that first introduce us to everything the world has to offer. They’re far more complex than a lot of people give them credit for: it’s very difficult to write a good children’s book if you’re approaching it entirely from the perspective of an adult. You have to figure out how to find the latent hope and optimism in even the most challenging scenarios, and how to translate emotions and experiences into a format that is accessible to every kind of reader. The best children’s books speak to adults and children alike, because they communicate something essential without pretension or artifice.

Why did you want to write Grandad's Pride (and Grandad's Camper)?

I wrote Grandad’s Camper partly in response to the lack of picture books featuring older members of the LGBTQ+ community, and partly as a way of understanding and communicating my own thoughts and experiences around grief, family and honouring loved ones.
With Grandad’s Pride, I wanted to explore the wider LGBTQ+ community and the history of Pride movements, in order to show how much we can learn from activists and campaigners of the past, and how our lived experiences today have a long historical precedent. I was also really touched by the many lovely responses to Grandad’s Camper since its publication, so I wanted to write something which continued to validate and speak to those readers despite the myriad difficulties LGBTQ+ people currently face.

Do you have a favorite illustration in this book?

I really like the scene in the bakery, where Milly, Fleur and Ayo are making rainbow cakes and other treats with Ayo’s older non-binary sibling, Temi. It was one of the first scenes that I came up with and it was a lot of fun illustrating all the different pastries, pies and cakes on offer, as well as the quaint bakery interior with its vintage orange tiles and stained leaded glass windows.

Do you have any hopes for this book after its release?

Grandad’s Camper has been so well-received in both the US and the UK, far beyond anything I had expected, so I feel incredibly lucky and grateful for all the people who have worked on the book – my UK publisher, Andersen Press, and Little Bee Books in association with GLAAD in the US, and my other foreign publishers – as well as all the readers, librarians, teachers and booksellers who have embraced the book in the way they have. I’d love for Grandad’s Pride to have a similar impact, and to continue making a positive change in households, libraries and classrooms on both sides of the pond: showing that compassion and community can and will win out over division, and that diversity is always something to be celebrated.

Are you currently working on any other books?

Yes, lots! I’m working on several different projects from fiction and non-fiction picture books to illustrated adaptations of classic stories, and even a fully illustrated middle grade series which will be on the way in a couple of years’ time. Being able to do this job is a massive privilege and a lifelong ambition, so I wake up most days feeling thankful that I get to do it, but at the same time I’m very much looking forward to my next holiday!

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