Let’s be honest. I picked this book up because of the name. Granny Ting Ting. I didn’t know anything about the book. I read the title and looked at the cover image–and bought the book.
Every two months, I buy a set of chapter books. I love that I do this for work! I need to choose appropriate books for my reading programmes, so I need to read a range of books, right? To be honest, most books I read do become part of my book club. A handful don’t – usually because they aren’t easily available (more about that in another post, hopefully).
Sometimes, though, as with Granny Ting Ting, there’s another reason I don’t choose certain books, and that is, that I am not equipped to lead a discussion on the book. Yes, I enjoyed Granny Ting Ting thoroughly. I like the characters and the exposure to a cultural milieu that I know little about. I love the competition between Shayla and Michael – with each trying to prove that where they live is better. Shayla lives in Trinidad; Michael lives in London. Who is more daring? I chuckled at each of their little contests, and that’s what brings me to the one thing that made me realise that I cannot use Granny Ting Ting at my book club.
Who can tell scarier ghost stories?
Shayla tells one, which is frightening enough. Then Michael tells another. Scary? Slightly.
While I don’t censor content I introduce, I found myself wondering – would I have been scared if I had read this at the age of seven? Yes.
If there’s a child at my book club who is very frightened, am I in a position to deal with it? No.
If the others laugh it off and one child stays scared, do I know what to do? No.
And that’s why I decided I wouldn’t introduce the book to my reading programme.
Is it a fun book? Yes.
Is it worth reading? YES!
I’ll look out for other books by Patrice Lawrence because I know I’d like to introduce my book club to something by her, someday!
| Title | Granny Ting Ting |
| Author | Patrice Lawrence |
| Tags | Caribbean, Chapter Book |
| Rating (out of 5) | 4 |
| Age-group | 7+ |
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