Little Dad

In ‘Little Dad’ a small boy compiles a mythical portrait of his grandfather: he is the father of the wood, of the village, even the whole country. This grandpa helps the squirrels and keeps the badger and the fox in check in an animal-friendly manner. He is also the father of all the fathers who stand along the touchline at football matches. He teaches his grandson to skate and takes care of him when his parents quarrel. But sometimes the roles are reversed. ‘My gramps is the father of everything, but he’s not the father of everything he thinks.’ On such occasions the little boy waits quietly for a while, until it’s his turn to be the comforting ‘little dad’ to his mournful grandpa-without-grandma.

No one could portray the affection between children and their grandparents more convincingly than Ingrid Godon. In large drawings full of surprises, with autumnal colours, she depicts the warm affection between grandfather and grandson to accompany Edward van de Vendel’s tender story. It is in goose-bump-raising books like this that Godon truly comes into her own.