‘Ssssh! Look at me and listen carefully!’ That is how Hanna’s grandpa begins every story. He tells stories about the present and the past, about Jona, Sarah plain and tall, the Second World War, Hanna’s birth,... The stories bring Hanna and her story grandpa closer to each other. While listening, Hanna learns a lot about herself and about life. Between the lines, the reader learns that grandpa is gradually becoming more ill. At the end of the story, Hanna comforts her dying grandpa with stories of her own.
A tender, philosophic story about the love between grandparent and grandchild. The soft paintings link up very well with the different stories.
Themes: telling, story, death, grandpa