Book: Not A Grandpa

Or are there just kids he doesn't know about?

The Shepherd's Tale comic never shows Book with any girls, but maybe he was with them and they weren't important to the narrative, like how we know Jayne goes to cat houses frequently but we only saw him with Helen. Book does make a joke in Better Days about using their windfall to hire some prostitutes.

Huh, hadn't thought much about this aspect of Book's backstory. But he does tell Mal he wasn't born a Shepherd, and I think that his past might well include romantic encounters. He seems to have an understanding of human interactions, and even some sympathy for Jayne taking care of his "needs." He says he never married, but that doesn't mean he never did anything.

Yeah. So maybe there's a younger Book out there. Although s/he probably wouldn't know, and the crew wouldn't recognize them, unless the mother told them about the father and s/he went looking.