Calling grandparents…

In the few days since my book, Cousins, Classmates and a Dog Called Rover, has been published, I have found that one particular group of people have found it very interesting. These are members of the older generation, who were themselves children in the 1950s and 1960s. They talk of the memories the book has brought to mind and how it has initiated conversations with their grandchildren and children. So maybe it is a book that parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents can buy and read alongside the younger members of the family.

There are plenty of issues to discuss. Is it fair for Susan to spread her belongings over half the room she is going to share with her two cousins and expect them to make do with the other half between them? Are the parents and teachers in the book too strict? Should the children have to help with the housework? Was their life in those days happier then than that of children today, with all the pressures of the modern world?

Michael Morpurgo was speaking on Radio 4 in the programme ‘A Point of View’ last Sunday (July 9th) about growing old, and his main theme was the importance of children and people of his generation and older relating to each other and sharing experiences. A book such as this could facilitate such conversations and be a contribution towards greater mutual understanding.

These days loneliness can be a problem for old and young alike. If we can help to combat it by providing the means to begin conversations, that must be a good thing!

Rachel Larkinson

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