When Charley Met Grampa

A simple and sweet story when read to oneself, but as a read-aloud to a few groups of preschoolers, they were enchanted and hooked. A mother came in later the next day to check it out as her preschooler talked about it at home. When most picture books intended for youngsters practically scream with technicolor, over-the-top humor, or at worst, didactic pandering, give this authentic, softly told book a whirl. Sometimes, indeed, simpler is simply better.

In a different mood I'd give it four stars and claim that it made me sniffle. Today it's not quite clicking. I guess I just don't like the plot trope that when a dog saves a life, or a cap, all of a sudden it's worthy, whereas it wasn't worthy on its own merits.

A brief summary:
Henry writes his grandpa a letter to invite him to come see his new dog named Charley. Henry's grandpa responds to the letter saying that he will be there Sunday, although he warns Henry that he has never been friends with a dog before. When Sunday arrives, Henry and Charley travel through the snow to the train station where they wait for a long time until Grandpa arrives. When Grandpa finally arrives, Charley is very excited to meet him. As they walk home from the train station, Grandpa's hat flies away in the wind, however Charley saves Grandpa's hat from being lost in the snow. At nighttime, Charley and Grandpa spend the night together and Grandpa realizes that he can be friends with a dog after all!

My personal show more reaction:
This is a really cute story about a boy, his dog, and his grandpa. I enjoy how the book starts off with Henry and Grandpa's letters to each other and I feel like this story provides a very satisfying ending as Grandpa and Charley fall asleep together. The friendship between Grandpa, who was once unsure of dogs, and Charley shows that even the most unlikely of people (or animals) can become friends.

A couple of uses:
- Have students write letters to their grandparent(s) as Henry wrote a letter to his grandfather. During the exercise, teach students about the different ways you can format a letter.
- Have students think and share about times where they were really excited about something new they received (like Henry and his new dog).

Genre:
This book is an example of realistic fiction as it features a story that could happen in real life. While one of the main characters is a dog, he does not exhibit any characteristics or perform any actions that would move this book from being realistic to fantasy.

Media:
pencil and watercolor show less

This book is a touching story about a boy who is very excited to show his grandpa his dog. However, the grandpa has never been friends with a dog before and isn't sure if he will like the dog. But, when the dog rescues grandpa's hat they become fast friends. This story works well with writing letters and formatting.

It is a good book because it shows a good relationship between Grampa and a little dog Charley built up through a journey of finding Grampa's hat in a snowy day. It is filled with warmth and love.

This book is a good example of realistic fiction because it talks about a story which can be happened in our real world. The dog cannot talk but he built up a friendship with Charley's grandpa by his action.

In this realistic fiction book, the boy is wanting his grandpa to come and meet his new puppy, Charley. So the grandpa gets on a train, and the little boy and Charley go to pick him up. They wait there in the freezing cold and the snow. Finally, his train comes and he meets the dog. The grandpa isn't sure how he feels about the dog, because he's never been friends with a dog before. But after a wind gust takes grandpas hat, and Charley goes and gets it, the grandpa thinks he likes him. Then when they get home, Charley jumps on his lap, and they fall asleep together, while the grandpa snores.