2007-06-11 Grandpa Chatterji is a terrific read!

"Grandpa Chatterji" by Jamila Gavin tells the story of two children named Neetu and Sanjay, and what happens when their incredible Grandpa comes to stay.

Neetu and Sanjay are young Asian children living in Britain. One day their mother tells them that their Grandpa is coming to stay. For some people that might not be especially unusual, but for Neetu and Sanjay it is very exciting because their Grandpa comes from India and they have never seen him before in their lives!

At first, they are worried that he might be strict and unfriendly, but when he finally arrives they quickly discover that he is kind and gentle. Plus, he is also generous, and brings them special presents too!

Neetu and Sanjay soon discover that Grandpa Chatterji does lots of amazing things, like meditating while standing on his head, and baking special Indian treats. Soon all three of them are off having adventures at the fair. After that Neetu and Sanjay go to visit Grandpa Chatterji back at his own home in India, where they learn all sorts of new things about their own family and Indian culture. But if you want to know what adventures they all have together, you'll need to read the book for yourself!

I really loved reading this book. I thought that even though it is a fiction book, the characters were very realistic, and I felt really sad when I got to the end. The writing is very good, with lots of lovely descriptions of people and places throughout the book. It is also really funny and sometimes made me laugh out loud. Overall, I would strongly recommend this book to both boys and girls aged between 9 and 11.