I bought the otterbox defender shortly after buying a Griffin Survivor which turned out to be completely unusable for me. The otterbox is simple, easy to fit, extremely well made from quality materials and gives excellent all round protection without being too bulky. Thoroughly recommended.
Great protection for your loved one. Light and not too bulky, a good trade-off between size and robustness. The screen protector is (in my opinion) fine as it is, I read that some folks removed it. I use the screen protector with an Apple Pencil and I get all the feedback I need.
I found the Pencil clips a bit too tight, but that's not a major fault at all. Overall, it's very well designed, nicely made and it feels part of the Pad very quickly. It's well moulded and this means it feels crisp and business-like, not like some Chinese products, which are built as cheaply as possible.
The material sits well in your hand, it's obviously been carefully chosen after hundreds of subjects have been made to hold lumps of plastic for several hours in a variety of climatic conditions.
Get one - I think these should be standard issue. Shop around to get a good deal, though - prices vary!