New Book Featuring ‘Hurricane Hannah’ Cockroft MBE Aims To Raise Funds For Charity

Halifax based author and wheelchair user Brian Abram, 64, is set to launch the third book in ‘The Adventures of Grandad Wheels!’ series on 30 September, featuring a local sporting legend.

The hilarious books tell stories of Brian’s adventures with his grandson Charlie. Aimed at primary age schoolchildren, the books share a common theme, that disability is no barrier to having fun.

Sponsored by Irwin Mitchell, ‘Grandad Goes For Gold!’ features local Paralympian wheelchair racing legend, Hannah Cockroft MBE, who Grandad and Charlie spot while walking their pet spaniel.

Fascinated by Hannah’s custom wheelchair, Charlie says grandad could still beat her in a race! If you have a spaniel tied to your wheelchair and your grandson throws Barney’s favourite tennis ball, anything is possible, causing the biggest shock of Hannah’s racing career!

Having published two books so far Brian has already raised over £13,000 for charities that help people who have had a spinal injury. Brian spent a year in Pinderfields Spinal Unit after a 2013 bike accident left him T9 paraplegic and a full-time wheelchair user.

The popularity of the books has seen Brian visiting many schools throughout the region, to read the stories and get local children involved in a range of fun activities and thinking about disability issues in general and wheelchair users in particular.

The launch of the latest Grandad Wheels book comes ahead of Grandparents Day on 3 October. Introduced in 2008, the day marks the unique bond between grandparents and grandchildren.

Speaking about the series, Hannah Cockroft said: "I love these books, as they’re great disability awareness for kids. They’re a fun way to teach your kids about wheelchairs and their users and for them to understand disability from a young age.

“It’s great to get the first viewing of Grandad Wheels new book ‘Grandad Goes For Gold!’ I’m so excited to be in a book that is breaking barriers by teaching kids about disability in a fun way. I can’t wait for you all to see it!”

Commenting ahead of the launch of ‘Grandad Goes For Gold!’, Brian Abram said: “When ‘Charlie’s Big Idea!’ launched in 2019, I don’t think we dared to hope the series would become the success it has and to be in a position to launch a third book is a fantastic feeling.

“Hannah used to train around the corner from us, so it was always the intention to feature her in one of the books and the success of our Paralympians this year seemed the perfect time to do it.

“Sharing the achievements of Hannah and other’s living with disability allows us to tell more children how they can achieve great things in their own lives, no matter what difficulties they face.

“I’m so grateful for Hannah’s continued encouragement and for allowing me to feature her in ‘Grandad Goes For Gold!’. Her achievements are an inspiration to all and I’m looking forward to sharing the story and supporting the vital work our schools already do in disability and inclusion.”

Expert Opinion

“We all felt back in 2019 that there was something special about Brian and his books but I don’t think any of us saw them being such an amazing success.

“The series ties in with our own positive disability campaigns and we’re proud to have played a part in helping to see these stories reach a wider audience.

“As a firm, we have supported Hannah since 2015 and she has also backed our IMAble campaigns, so it’s great to see two people we know well joining forces. Brian shows no signs of slowing down, so we’re looking forward to this launch and the promise of much more to come from ‘Granddad Wheels’ in the months ahead.” Ross McWilliams - Partner

In addition to book three, Brian is planning a further book, ‘Grandad In The Grotto!’ a riotous story that will be released in time for Christmas. ‘Grandad Goes For Gold!’ and the other books in the series are available from bookshops and are available directly from www.grandadwheels.com