Who knew a children’s book could make a grown up cry buckets? It’s a lovely point of view on a very sad subject. The illustrations were very sweet.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of Grandpa's Window by Laura Gehl.
Grandpa's Window is the story of a young girl that visits her grandfather in a hospital. A simple story that deals with the death of a grandparent and how to cope; simple, yet full of feeling and beautiful illustrations!

In this story, a little girl is visiting her grandfather in the hospital before his death. She takes him pictures she has drawn, and they talk about their memories. Over time, he continues to decline, and then the girl's parents comfort her and tell her that Grandpa has died. This book is helpful conversation tool for families facing similar losses, and I appreciate that this book shows part of the dying process and normalizes that for children, instead of just showing the grieving process afterwards. There is also a helpful author's note that includes information for parents about how to talk with kids about death.

My one concern about this book is how the plot twist may confuse children who are very literal. The book makes it sound and look like Grandpa's hospital room looks out on the beach, but as I expected as an adult reader, this is just the characters' imagination, as they enjoy the girl's drawings and reminisce about fun times together. The story talks about Grandpa's window as if they really were seeing the beach through the window in his hospital room, and the later plot twist reveals that it's just a regular hospital window looking out at gray buildings. Parents will find the metaphor and plot twist meaningful, and some kids will understand and appreciate it as well, but if someone's child is extremely literal, this is probably not the best grief book for them, as the plot twist could just add to their confusion and sense of disorientation.

Oh my god, my heart! What an unexpectedly heartfelt, beautiful book.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a perfect depiction of a grandparent/grandchild relationship and losing a loved one. It would be a perfect gift for a child going through a similar loss.

The twist about the window made me gasp out loud. How clever and beautiful.

I can't wait to buy a hardcopy of this book once it's released. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Right in the Feels.

I mean....it's a picture book, which means it's rather short, and yet it managed to make me tear up. Despite the lack of deep character development (of course).

Very poignant; exceptionally done for a topic that has no rules or the like (grief). Grief is so very subjective, hence why a lot of books, etc exist on it. I personally don't think you can be exposed to too many, and so, I would purchase this for my niece, my nephew, myself, a school, so on and so forth. The artwork is calming and quaint. And at one point, it made me gasp and utter aloud 'Well done'. I wouldn't necessarily say it's a *twist*, but neither did I see it coming.

Very grateful to have been given early access to this essential lesson.

Let me start off by saying, this book made me cry!

This beautifully illustrated story shows greif in a way my seven year old daughter can understand and in a way I feel very comfortable showing to her. Daria goes to visit her grandpa in what looks like an assisted living home while his health decreases. They watch people outside the window doing things that they look forward to doing together.

The book takes several impactful and beautiful pictures of family grieving and friends gathering at a funeral to show that grandpa has passed away.

The little girl, Daria, continues her memories with her grandpa by painting pictures of the window they looked out of and taping that to her own.

Dr. Sharie Coombes, a child psychologist, provides a very helpful parents note in the back with resources and advice on how to navigate loss wirth your child. Such a perfect addition for this book.

I will recommend this book first and foremost to any friend with children that might have recently lost a family member.

This book deals with and shows grieving in a way my daughter could understand, at first I was a little worried as she is a very emotional kid but she took the book very well. Very heartfelt storyline. It is definitely a bittersweet story as it takes you through the process of her grandpa's health declining all while making the best of her visits to the hospital to see him.

Daria frequently visits her ailing grandfather at his nursing home (care facility for you Brits). His window gives a lovely view of the ocean, and together they plan all the fun things they will do at the seaside when Grandpa gets better. Adults reading this book to their kiddos will understand almost immediately that Daria is bound to be disappointed. Sometimes we don’t get what we want; then we need to hold tight to those memories, “not very tight, but tight enough.” The book ends with welcome words of advice from Dr. Sharie Coombs, a child psychologist.

I love Laura Gehl’s gentle prose nearly made me cry, but Udayana Lugo’s pastel illustrations share credit in making this beautiful picture book what it is. Highly, highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Flyaway Books in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, first and foremost i got teary eyed reading this beautiful book. It show darias journey with her grandfather slowly becoming very ill until he passes away. She is so hopeful until he gone. While her heart is broken we see her strength. This book is great for showcasing grief and also a great conversation starter to be able to explain what its like to lose someone you love. I grew up with both sets of grandparents and my great grandparents. I was always shocked by the amount of kids i met growing up who had already lost their grandparents. This is a needed book!

A comforting pictorial story about a little girl who is undaunted by her grandpa's declining health while he is hospitalized. Then comes the time when he is no longer there but she keeps and treasures the pictures she made of them together in the sunshine. Everyone grieves differently, and the end of the book suggests resources for support. Extremely well done.
The illustrations by Udayana Lugo are simply delightful, imaginative, and very colorful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone who needs it, but especially to a school or your public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Flyaway Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

What a beautiful story full of great observations that Daria and her grandfather shared together. This encourages me to look out my window at the beauty around me. Daria experiences grief. "Daria could feel Grandpa's hand squeezing hers - not very tight, but tight enough. She experiences her grandfather's decline and feels a lot. Kids will be able to relate to this, if not now, in the future.

This children’s book was well-written and illustrated. The topic deals with Grandpa’s health and how it declines while he is in the hospital. There is a close relationship between the child and the grandpa but we see how Daria handles each situation. Reading this aloud to a child who may be dealing with the death of a loved one can open up a discussion that the child might not know how to initiate. This can be read by the parent or a teacher. If read during a class, there might be more than one child who would benefit from this discussion.

I would highly recommend this book to teachers and parents.

A beautiful and honest portrayal of the ways many children process grief. I was impressed by both the pacing and the magical realism in the story, which perfectly reflects the way a child may interpret hospital visits. This book should be on every counselor or librarian's shelf.

What a lovely book to help both children and parents through the loss of a loved one. Short and to the point walk through the hospital visits and happy pictures of the beach to build memories in the hospital and when Daria takes them home to her apartment. I particularly appreciate the information for parents at the end about addressing loss with small children. Thank you to Flyaway Books and NetGalley for the early access in exchange for my honest opinion. I look forward to recommending this book.

Daria's grandfather is hospitalized, and whenever she visits him, they hold hands and enjoy the seascape views from his hospital window. The memory of these times together help her process her grief. There is a surprise at the end for the reader. Poignant.

Daria and her grandpa are very close and share lots of fun times together. When he has to be hospitalized she is very sad for the separation. The bed in his hospital room faces a window that looks out on the beach. Together the two plan wonderful beach activities to do together such as flying kites and building sandcastles after he is finally released.

Unfortunately her grandpa's health deteriorates even more and when he can no longer speak they hold hands and he gently squeezes hers as a means of communication.

Sadly her beloved grandpa passes away and Daria has to find a way to cope with his loss. "Grandpa's Window" is about making fond memories before someone you love is gone forever from your life. It is written in a tender way that children can understand and the author includes a note at the end to assist parents how to inform a child of a passing of a loved one.

This inspiring book encouraged creativity and self-expression in the midst of grief. A discussion and activity guide written by Laura Gehi will be available February 2023 at flyaway books.com/resources. I highly recommend this book.

Great job with such a hard topic. I don’t have a lot of words because it’s sad and I don’t want to experience this - but it’s important to be able to talk about it and I know this is a great resource

Grandpa's Window rang true to me as my 97 year old mama recently died in a facility where her window overlooked the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia. Here she spent many many joyful hours with her grandson Brady.

Grandpa's Window is about the value of making memories today. It is geared for children and note at the end by Dr. Sharie Coombes, child and family psychotherapist, is meant to assist parents with how to inform a child that a loved one has passed away.

Daria visits grandpa in the hospital where he has a window looking out at the beach. They hope that one day they can spend time on the beach together doing beach activities such as flying kites and building sandcastles. When Daria's grandfather can no longer speak, they hold hands, and she understands what he is saying with the gentle squeezes he gives her.

This is a bittersweet story concerning the realities of life as grandpa's health goes into decline and evidently death.

I loved the premise of this book, but was a bit bothered by all the things the granddaughter planned to do one day with grandpa…
Fly kites on the beach, build sandcastles, look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…
To which grandpa assures her they will, until day day he can no longer verbally communicate.

The book illustrates, brilliantly I felt, the parents bring grandpa’s personal belongs home after he has passed away. I just did this 3 months ago I say through my tears.

The illustrations are a compliment to the story which is short but shows a young girl saying goodbye to her beloved grandpa.

This book deals with a serious subject in a tender loving and comforting manner.

This picture book for children seeks to provide a glimpse into the loss of a loved one. Daria is a young girl whose grandfather is in the hospital. She visits him and together they watch the ocean and the beach outside of the window. After his death Daria takes drawings of the ocean back to her room and her apartment building to remember Grandpa.

The illustrations in this are lovely, capturing the expansiveness of the world outside. The note at the end provides an excellent resource for parents or teachers who may be helping young students navigate grief or a relative with an extended illness.

While it might not work in every scenario, it is a short, direct story for young children to begin to approach the subject of death.

Daria has been spending a lot of time with Grandpa in his hospital room lately. His window faces the ocean, which inspires the two of them to make plans for all the fun things they'll do once Grandpa gets better. But Grandpa doesn't get better, and Daria has to decide how she will deal with the new feelings that twist up inside her.

This book is just a little glimpse into a family dealing with loss. It makes a really poignant statement with only a few words. I don't think I'd be able to read this one aloud to a child, as it sets me crying every time. It's a great way to open up conversations about what it means when a loved one dies and the ways we deal with feelings afterward.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flyaway Books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.