posted on 10 Jun 2021

The Roller-Coaster Ride by David Broadbent

As a keen collector of books featuring grandparents, I was very pleased when this review copy arrived. Much of my collection features ancient, bespectacled grandmas with buns, shawls and walking sticks, although there is thankfully more variety appearing in contemporary books. The cover of this one shows a lively woman of about sixty with a long grey bob and a few wrinkles around the eyes, which looked promising. She and her young grandson appear to be enjoying a roller coaster ride. But why are they wearing clear helmets and could that be a family of Aliens on the ride below them? As with all pictures books published by Child’sPlay ( International) Limited, the cover is designed to entice the reader to find out more.

I do like books with maps as part of the story and was pleased to see one on the endpapers. I spent some time looking at it and know that my grandchildren will enjoy pointing out the landmarks, perhaps going on to draw maps of their own. This is an exciting adventure book which shows Vincent with his grandma travelling by purple bus to the beach. The plan seems to be a ride on the roller coaster at Funland, although ever cautious grandma warns that it might not be there anymore. Children’s emotions are big and I loved the way in which Vincent is shown with his face filling the whole page as he imagines how his ‘face goes all rubbery!'

He chatters on with enthusiasm and imagination as grandma answers his many questions as the bus winds along the road getting closer to their destination. The beauty of this book is how the left hand page keeps the reader up to speed with where the bus is while the facing page shows Vincent’s vivid imagination - this rather reminded me of John Burningham’s style.

Reality rarely measures up to expectations and we share Vincent’s disappointment when Funland is found to be closed. But children can be easily distracted by the promise of a treat and a Super Deluxe Magnifico ice cream has him jumping for joy. It then turns out that spending time in an ordinary play-park can be just as thrilling on a day out with a fun Grandma.

There is so much to talk about in this picture book. It is full of energy and emphasises the special strong relationship between children and their grandparents. By the way, Vincent has one foreshortened arm which I didn’t notice until several pages into the story. This is how books for children including people with any disability should be - matter of fact with no fuss.

Strongly recommended.

 

Karen Argent

June 2021