Benji Davies, award-winning author and illustrator of The Storm Whale, has created a vibrant and thoughtful tale about losing someone you love.

Syd goes to visit his grandad one day and finds him in the attic. They go through a magical door and from there they set sail for a tropical island. After an adventure exploring the island together, Syd is ready to go home, but Grandad decides to stay behind…

The depiction of the flora and fauna of the paradisiacal island is gloriously colourful and the fun, loving relationship between Syd and his grandad makes their parting genuinely emotional.

The story doesn’t deal with the subject of bereavement as overtly as some other books on this theme – two of my favourites are Oliver Jeffers’ The Heart and the Bottle and the stark, unsentimental Duck, Death and Tulip by Wolf Erlbruch – but it’s a heartfelt, gentle introduction to saying goodbye.

Grandad’s Island, by Benji Davies, published by Simon and Schuster, is available now.