Grandpa’s Great Escape audiobook

I gave this book 4 stars for the message it sends out about elderly people and how they can get ill and children not understanding why. Jack loved his grandfather and watched him get more ill as the story unfolded, however, Jack never let this effect the way he treated his grandfather and only for the love of Jack towards his grandfather, allowed them to endure many adventures together. This made the story have that emotional edge and the reason you want to keep turning the pages.The story itself got a little too silly in places and I felt this ruined the message David Walliams was trying to get across. If it was not for this, I would have rated this book 5 stars as I feel the message is really powerful and very important!I really loved the ending of this story also!

Grandpa’s Great Escape is a good book for kids. Grandpa gets put into a high security retirement village, TWILIGHT TOWERS. While Jack plans to free grandpa, this reveals some hidden secrets about twilight towers that only the residents and Jack know about. This book shows thrill and adventure making you to keep wanting to turn pages. Grandpa and Jack go on many adventures together, with grandpa thinking that he is still fighting in the war, this leads to adventures in spitfires and close encounters with the police. Grandpa lives in a flat above Raj’s newsagent shop, this means exiting the building at night is easy as Raj is extremely forgetful, he forgets to lock the shop door. After escaping from the evil retirement village, Grandpa encounters love with a fellow resident of the retirement village.If you are into thrill and adventure, reading about Jack and Grandpas adventures is a good book for you.

David Walliams’s series of children’s books keep growing and what I like about them is the focus on familial relationships in the midst of the madcap adventures and irreverent humour. The ones about grandparents are especially moving, and this one is in the vein of “Gangsta Granny”.A tad more serious and sobering than that story, we have 12-year-old Jack, grappling with his beloved grandpa’s developing dementia. A World War 2 fly ace with the RAF, Grandpa gets increasingly entrenched in the past, believing the war is still going on, and Jack plays along, to help him cope. Together they get into many (mis)adventures, and Jack fights against all obstacles to try to stop his Grandpa from being sent to an old folks’ home.While the plot may seem a trifle riotous and at times unbelievable, Jack’s love for his Grandpa shines through, and that relationship is central to the entire book. Characterisation is consistent and one of Walliams’s strong points as a writer is how he makes even the minor characters memorable, and you can imagine them being central characters of a spin-off story. A case in point is Raj, the gregarious corner store owner, who has appeared in all of the series so far, and wondrously funny.

Such a heartwarming and inspiring story! I loved the focus on the importance of grandparents!

Sweet and silly - a wonderful book for a child or a child-like adult.

Well Mr Walliams... back on form!After a few disappointing reads (not just for me, but lots of young library customers), this latest from the comedian sees him back on what he appears to do best - heartfelt family stories, with lots of humour and exciting plots. My favourites are still Boy in the Dress and Billionaire Boy, but this fits nicely up there with them. And includes a story about a very tough subject for children - the mental deterioration of dementia/Alzheimer's in older people. This, at heart though, is a story about a boy and his Granddad. Jack's parents (very much background characters) are not as important to Jack as his Grandpa, he of the daring war stories, tales of aerial adventure and escape, dogfights and danger. We watch Jack noticing his Grandpa's increasing forgetfulness, and slightly manic episodes that lead him to Twilight Towers, a care home that is not all that it appears to be.This is a long book for Walliams, at more than 400 pages, though it zips by. It could almost be two books, as the first half is more concerned with the misadventures that see Grandpa declining into a man who sees himself and his grandson as back in the War, and the second with the care home. I thought both worked, and didn't feel it was too long, though a newly emergent reader may struggle with the length.Walliams has left the over-the-top humour to one side for this story, focusing more on funny happenings and characters than authorial asides and long words covering two pages.Set in the 80s, we also get a young Raj (still the same), though the time period isn't obvious, but means Grandpa can be the right age for the war veteran he needs to be. This is an excellent mixture of warmth, humour and pathos, with adults reading very likely to feel choked up at both the relationship between a loving Jack and his oblivious Grandpa, and the depiction of dementia Walliams conveys. There is still enough of Walliams' zany humour (some wonderfully evil villains, some incredibly eccentric care home residents) and lots of manic adventure to keep a 7-11 year old reader happy as well. And an ending that is both moving and appropriate. It's one that you could even discuss in classes.I'm so glad I'm able to write a wholly positive review after a few disappointing reads by the author. I love this side to his writing, and there's a queue of readers in the library that say the same.A winner all round. Lovely idea, very sensitively executed.

Had me sobbing never going to recover

Was pretty good and reminds me of Roald Dahls work.

David Walliams' is back again and he's at his best. This was a heartfelt, emotional read which still managed to maintain Walliams' humour, wit and charm. I've read all of his books now, apart from his latest, and this is easily up there with the best of them. The way the book handles sensitive topics such as mental deterioration of the elderly through Alzheimer's and dementia is also exceptional.Jack's grandpa is his hero and his daring adventures in the RAF during the war have always been fascinating to him. However, Grandpa still thinks that these adventures are real and that he is currently living in the war. This leads to all sorts of daring, hilarious and entertaining adventures including Grandpa 'flying' at the top of a church spire! Though Grandpa is a hero to Jack, his diminishing memory leads to Jack's parents sending him to a retirement home like no other - Twilight Towers! However, Twilight Towers certainly isn't all it seems to be...Unlike his other books, Walliams chooses to set this story during the 1980s. It works flawlessly and his writing is superb, showing Grandpa's deterioration in a sympathetic and realistic manner whilst remaining a fun and positive novel. To Grandpa, Jack is a Squadron Leader and is the only person who can understand his Grandpa fully and treats him as a hero. I loved the characters and world which Walliams has beautifully and expertly crafted, I'm sure it will instantly intrigue and excite children aged around 7+.Highly recommend this as it's fun, engaging and a brilliant adventure! Definitely a must-have book for fans both new and old of the brilliant David Walliams. 5/5 stars!

U "Djedovom velikom bijegu", Walliams se kroz njemu svojstven humor dotiče teme staračke demencije i pokušava predstaviti svojim čitateljima na što bezbolniji način što ista napravi od osobe kojoj je dijagnosticirana. Avanture malog Jacka i njegovog djeda Buntinga zasigurno će izmamiti osmijeh i pokoju suzu. Jedan od najboljih Walliamsovih romana, u svakom slučaju.

Que livro tão bom e divertido! Leitura conjunta com o filhote o que adorei!