View source for Grandma Bendy by Izy Penguin

{{infobox
|title=Grandma Bendy
|author=Izy Penguin
|reviewer=Jo Heffer
|genre=For Sharing
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=9781848860773
|paperback=1848860773
|hardback=
|audiobook=
|ebook=
|pages=32
|publisher=Maverick Arts Publishing
|date=May 2012
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1848860773</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>1848860773</amazonus>
|website=
|video=
|summary=Grandma Bendy is not a typical grey haired, sweet granny by anybody's standards. Firstly, she is incredibly bendy which can sometimes be a good thing but not always! Added to that, she has a bit of a shady past which has demonstrated her somewhat criminal tendencies. Is she still a bit of a villain or has she managed to mend her ways?
}}
Grandma Bendy is definitely not like other grannies:

''She is incredibly bendy.''<br>
''She had twisty, twizzly arms''<br>
''and super, stretchy legs.''

This makes her a very clever granny especially when she plays Hide-and-seek. However, in the not too distant past, Granny Bendy used her bendiness for a less honourable purpose than playing games with her grandchildren. In fact, she led a life of crime, breaking into people's houses as she was able to squeeze through the tiniest of spaces. Nobody's house was safe and she was a very proficient burglar who never stopped to think about her victims.

All this changed one day though, when she returned home to discover that someone had burgled her home. This made her feel so ashamed that she immediately handed herself into the police and spent many years locked up in a bendy proof cell. When she was finally released, she was just as bendy as ever, but determined to put this unusual trait to much better use and, ultimately, to become everybody's hero by carrying out good deeds.

This funny, engaging book was a big hit with my daughter. Although not a typical granny, Grandma Bendy is very appealing and we loved her bendy ways. She's a very entertaining character and the fact that she does finally repent her villainous ways certainly made her that bit more endearing. The bright and colourful illustrations really add to the overall enjoyment too, with Grandma Bendy's gangly limbs sprawling and stretching over most pages. There are also some little mice that appear on most pages providing their own commentary on what is going on.

I really liked the way that the story was written with lots of good description including some delightful alliteration. The text is written using a childlike font that makes it seem that the story is actually written by Grandma Bendy's grandchildren. There is good use of ellipsis to build up suspense from one page to the next and also the use of big bold font in order to emphasise important details.

Overall, this is a really enjoyable book that is great fun for sharing. We feel sure that Grandma Bendy will be a much loved and popular character. She certainly is in our house.

Why not also take a look at [[My Granny is a Pirate by Val McDermid and Arthur Robins]]

{{amazontext|amazon=1848860773}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=9021498}}
{{commenthead}}