“Now there are no more Grandpa minutes, Grandpa seconds. Time just stops.”

This story is both sweet and heartbreaking. Grandpa dies and his grandchild misses him terribly. It shows that it is okay and normal to grieve. When the child holds the watch, it feels like art of Grandpa is still with him/her. That brings comfort and allows the child to begin to heal.

This book is a nice way to help explain death to a child. It recognizes that a child will feel sad. The illustrations are perfectly fitted to the story. It is highly recommended for a child dealing with loss.


I received an ARC from Kids Can Press through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

It's a heartbreaking story as the young boy is trying to deal with the loss of his beloved grandfather. The opening lines actually cut me to the core, because I feel this so much: "When summer started, I got Grampa's stopwatch. I don't want his stopwatch. I want him." And I flashed back to losing my own grandparents as a child.

The stopwatch represents all of the fun that he had with his grandfather, because it was Grampa's favorite thing. They timed each other doing all kinds of things. And life just does not feel right. And he is angry. And then eventually, he is able to come back around and find the joy in the stopwatch again.

All of these feelings are completely normal to have. When you think about how hard it is for us as adults to process these feelings, imagine how much more difficult it is for a young child. Perhaps this book could help a child trying to deal with a loss or at least provide a foundation for some conversations.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Beautiful story of a child missing their grandfather , whom has passed. The line, "Time just stops"broke me. I was in tears. As adult who lost my parents, I could relate to this child left with their grandfather's watch and just wanted them back. I think it is a beautiful and relatable story to share with families.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about a kid who is dealing with the grief of his grampa's death.

Loretta Garbutt uses subtlety and sensitivity to explore the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) in this moving picture book story of loss. It features a gender-neutral main character (no first name or pronouns are given) making the story universally relatable. This is a perfect choice for fostering discussions with children about their emotions, particularly the feeling of loss. It also offers a poignant representation of an intergenerational relationship between a grandfather and grandchild. Carmen Mok's expressive and thoughtful illustrations employ a limited color palette to convey the character's emotional trajectory. There are curriculum applications here in social-emotional development as well as character education lessons in caring and resilience.

A Stopwatch from Grampa by Loretta Garbutt is such a sweet and gentle story about a child dealing with grief over the death of his beloved Grampa. The boy in the story has the stopwatch from his Grampa, and has fond memories of things they did together with it. Now it's something that will always make him feel close to his Grampa, and that's such a sweet connection.

This book handles the child's perspective of grief and loss so well. I think this will be a huge comfort to any child who is dealing with the death of a loved one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book talks about grief in a gentle way, which is a great approach for kids who might dealing with the loss of loved ones. It is told very simple but thorough so that kids will be able to understand it. I just lost my grandpa 2 weeks ago. Reading this book really touched me. I can relate to the boy's feeling and it make me feel less lonely. The boy has the stopwatch from his grandpa, something that would always make him feel close to his grandpa, and I have a few unforgettable memories with my grandpa that I will carry in my heart forever :)
Thank you to publisher for a chance to review this book.

This is a story about grief and how one child handles losing their grandfather. The art is well-suited for the story.

This is a beautiful story about a kid and the memories of a beloved grandfather. I love how it all revolves around the stopwatch. And while it seems obvious that the grandfather has died, the book doesn't make a big deal about it. So, it could be read of the level of having a dear one who is no longer around, whether it be in a far-away country or at a nursing home. I loved all the onomatopoeia sounds incorporated into this book.

**Note: I received a free copy of this title from the people at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a beautiful, simple story about a little boy who's grandfather has passed away and left him his stop watch which they used to use to time different things together. The book touches on grief and loss and is beautifully illustrated.
This is a great book for children experiencing loss to read and share together with a grown up to talk about the story as its read.

A small child inherits Grampa's stopwatch but longs for his beloved Grampa instead. Why can't they still play "timing" games together like they used to? What good is having Grampa's dumb old watch without him?



Grampa used to time everything with his watch: how long it took to race to end of the street and back, how long it took to eat a bubblegum ice cream cone and the time it took for Grampa to eat three oatmeal raisin cookies, just to name a few. The watch feels so empty of feelings and joy without Grampa holding on to it as they played the stopwatch games...together.

"Now there are no more Grampa minutes, Grampa seconds.
Time just stops."


The watch is tossed into a dresser drawer and the drawer is closed. The grieving for Grampa settles in and nothing feels like fun anymore without him. Time marches on and when the season changes into winter the little boy discovers Grampa's watch buried underneath his sweaters in the drawer. He picks it up and finds it fits perfectly in his hand and starts clicking the silver button... tick, tick, tick. He then measures how long it takes for the shadows to move across the room and comes to the realization that the watch sounds just like Grampa. The rhythmic ticking makes the little boy feel that Grampa is still there with him. Now HE can become the keeper of the watch and HE can carry on the wonderful tradition of being an extraordinary time keeper himself.

The illustrations enrich the text greatly and the child is portrayed in a unisex fashion so all children can relate. The story is simple, gentle and touching. I highly recommend this book.

A simple and touching story about a child coming up to terms with his/her grandfather passing away. I was very close to my grandfather, so this little book made me feel very emotional.
It is difficult to tell if the child is a boy or a girl, which is great because family love and grief over losing your loved ones is universal. They used to do so many fun things together, timing different activities, and the grandfather was always present. Then one day he wasn't there anymore, and all the things that used to bring the child so much joy and happiness suddenly seem different. With time the child re-discovers the stopwatch. Remembering Grandfather is not as painful as it was, and there so many things to time and appreciate.
The artwork is lovely and simple. It doesn't distract from the story, but rather enhances the emotions the story evokes in the reader.
The topic of loss and grief is difficult to discuss with children, although sooner or later it is necessary to do. This book deals with the subject with great sensitivity and care, and can be very helpful.
Thank you to NetGalley And Kids Can Press for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

A sweet, simple story about grief and memories after losing a loved one. This would be a useful book for a child who is in the situation of losing a grandparent or other relative.

I liked this story and the images were lovely and really suited the story.
The story was a heart-warming one and it dealt with the subject of loss very well.
This is definitely a book I would read to my daughter when we need to cover this subject.
It is 5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended!

There is something about children learning to deal with loss that makes an already difficult emotion even harder.

This book dealt with the idea of loss beautifully. The stop watch was perfect in showing how time stops, and picks up again and in times of grief can stop and go at random times.

I really felt for this child who was mourning a loss so deep and hurtful that he didn’t understand. The anger and hurt needed time to be understood.

A very simply affecting look at junior grief, with a young child mourning their grandfather but reconnecting to valued memories through his legacy of an old-fashioned stopwatch. Nice design, easy script and a light touch for what could be such a heavy subject make this a winner.

This is a sweet story about memories and coming to terms with grief.

A child used to play with their grandfather, timing everything with his stopwatch. But now Grampa is gone, and all that's left is the stopwatch. The child doesn't want anything to do with it, and buries it in a drawer. They feel sad, and don't want to do the things that used to make them happy. One day, after some time has passed, they find the stopwatch and start to use it to time things. They remember the fun they had, and use the stopwatch as a way to honour their memory of Grampa.

The story is simple, but poignant. The illustrations, done in a limited colour palette, capture the moods of the main character perfectly. (The narrator is drawn as rather unisex--intentionally, I suspect--so they're easily relatable.)

Overall, this is a nice picture book about grief, in the same vein as My Big, Dumb Invisible Dragon by Angie Lucas or The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden by Heather Smith.

A Stopwatch from Grampa by Loretta Garbutt is a lovely, simple story that evokes all of the feels. When Grampa departs unexpectedly one summer, he leaves behind only a stopwatch. But who wants a stopwatch when you are missing Grampa? In time, the memories attached to the watch come to the forefront, and a grieving child is warmed by thoughts of happy times shared with a loved one. Beautifully illustrated by Carmen Mok, this is a story that will introduce the subject of death and loss in a way that is relatable to even the youngest of children. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kids Can Press for this ARC.