Title: UNLOCKED (Hook Book)
Author: Balaji Venkataramanan
Illustrator: Tanvi Bhat
Publisher: Duckbill Books (an imprint of Penguin Random House)
Type: Paperback
Length: 40 Pages
Age recommendation: 5 to 8 years
A book that celebrates the grandchild-grandparent bond.
This book feels so personal. KBC sent this to me in Mumbai at my parent’s place where I have come with Dakshu for a month to look after my dad who is unwell.
Ravi doesn’t want to go to his grandfather’s place since it feels like a hospital. Nevertheless, he has to go with his mom when she decides to take care of him. Like all perceptive children, Ravi understands that something is wrong, and, in his innocence, he directly asks his grandpa if he is going somewhere. As all adults do, Ravi’s Grandpa dodges the question by saying that his life is safely locked in a box.
An only child in the house, Ravi, is bored many times, and his grandpa keeps him entertained to the best of his abilities. The conversations between them are heartwarming and funny. The analogy of Grandpa’s health to the game of Snakes and Ladders is very intuitive. I loved the way he shows that he is feeling fine by doing the action with his fingers of climbing a ladder. This book makes the ordinary moments between a grandson and his grandpa so special and valued.
The illustrations by Tanvi Bhat are beautiful and complement the story very well. I loved the depiction of Grandpa’s health on the board of Snakes and Ladders, and the different pictures showing the camaraderie between Ravi and his grandpa.
Grasping the concept of death is difficult for little ones. My son keeps asking about all relatives who are already “stars” in the family and is very worried that what will happen to him when I become a “star”.
This book depicts death in a gentle and tender manner and helps children accept it.
The book is full of little gems (even for adults). My favourite line from the book is when Ravi asks if he can roll the dice for Grandpa (when he says his health is like Snakes and Ladders) and Grandpa says,
“You have to play your own game, my boy”.
Each one of us has our own fate and we have to deal with our own lives.
Dakshu’s favourite part of the book: The word ladder at the end. 😊
We love Hook Books and recently reviewed Rosa in a Rush.
There are other Hook Books published by Duckbill which are just as engaging as this book is. –You can read reviews of other hook books on our website. We have reviewed Biji’s in the Kitchen! , PUPPY TROUBLE, KITTEN TROUBLE, The Race for Rugda. Other fun reads include Shoo! Crow here. Not to miss, I Want A Pet!, Cyrus the Whyrus, Passepartout, Is That You?….
Get Hooked: The Hook Book Box Set – a set of 11 Hook Books (440 pages) is also available which works out to be more economical!
If you are looking for a gentle book that talks about death of a grandparent, you might want to order the book from Amazon (kbc affiliate link),
CLICK & BUY NOW!Disclaimer: Khushboo and Daksh are part of the #kbcReviewerSquad and received this book as a review copy from the publisher via kbc.
