Two great-grandchildren of Nelson Mandela ask their grandmother questions about his life which she clearly and directly answers. Illustrations by Sean Qualls match the dignity and directness of the text. A fine introduction to Mandela's life and a good steppingstone to further research.

Grandad Mandela is a picture book that teaches young, through elementary grade, students about Nelson Mandela, African politics and how Mandela fought (without weapons) for his beliefs. The schema of the book is that Mandela's great grandchildren ask questions and their grandmother tells the story. Concepts such as apartheid are simply and clearly explained. This book is a good starting point for children who want to learn about Mandela, social justice and what they, themselves, can do to further Mandela's legacy . Of note is that this book is written by members of the Mandela family.

Grandad Mandela shows the stories of Nelson Mandela's life through the lens of his daughter telling her children stories and answering their questions. Because of this format, the writing can seem quite stilted but I feel that the author managed to cram a lot of important information and messages into very few words on each page.

I think that this would be perfect for slightly older children than the usual picture book demographic due to the importance of the information; I imagine it would be a brilliant way to introduce difficult topics such as racism to a child.

The illustration style is gorgeous. It really evokes a sense of place and culture and fits perfectly with the story.

Overall I would recommend this book to people who want to teach their children more about race and the problems that different people across the world have dealt with. Also it is a great introduction to the importance of Nelson Mandela in history.