Illustrated by Mary Whyte. 32 p., McGraw Hill/Gingham Dog, 2003. When you move to a new home, you might think you have no friends there. Annie feels so alone at her new house that she wants to go back to the old, familiar one. When she tells her grandma that she has no friends in the new place, Grandma replies that everyone has a box of friends. She shows Annie hers. In the box are mementos of the special friendships in Grandma's life. Grandma is even a friend to herself. Annie wants to make her own box of friends, and Grandma helps her. When Annie is invited to another girl's birthday party, and is told that she can bring a friend, she brings Grandma. We understand that Annie has learned that she's brought friends with her to her new home - both in the connections that remain even when friends are far away, and in the people (and dog) whom she'd forgotten to think of as friends. Illustrated with wistful, light-washed watercolors, this story offers a way to move through the losses that come with a move. Ages 5-8
Showing posts with label grandmother. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grandmother. Show all posts
Remembering Grandpa by Uma Krishnaswami
Illustrated by Layne Johnson. 32 p., Boyds Mills, 2007. When someone has died, it can be hard for children to bear adults' sadness. A year after the death of little bunny Daysha's grandpa, her grandma "came down with a bad case of sadness." Daysha decides to look for a cure. To do this, she visits many of Grandpa's favorite places, bringing back things that remind her of him. As she does, she remembers Grandpa lovingly, moving through her own sense of loss. When she's piled the special things in Grandpa's favorite spot on the back steps, she brings Grandma out to see them. They both cry, especially Grandma, who acknowledges this lovely tribute, and takes Daysha for ice cream, just as Grandpa used to. Daysha understands that Grandma's sadness doesn't need a cure after all, "just hugs, and the right kind of remembering." This story is illustrated with sweet oil paintings. It contains important, supportive messages about both remembering someone who has died, and sharing the experience of loss. Ages 6-8
Boundless Grace by Mary Hoffman
Illustrated by Caroline Binch. 28 p., Dial, 1995. When your family doesn't fit with the images of families that you're exposed to, it can be confusing. And it can be even more confusing to meet a father whom you haven't seen since you were very little. Grace lives with her ma and her nana in the United States, and sees herself as not having a father. But she does have a father, and he lives in Africa with Grace's stepmother and young stepsister and stepbrother.Grace is surprised when he sends her tickets for Nana and her to visit him there. At first, Grace feels as if she doesn't belong in this family - they're complete without her, and this family has the "wrong" mother. But she finds that she can't help liking her step-siblilngs. She feels that she has to be annoyed with someone, though, and, having read stories about wicked stepmothers, chooses her stepmother, Jatou. Once her father reassures her of his love for her, she's able to like Jatou, and to enjoy African cultural experiences. But she misses Ma, and feels homesick when they talk on the phone. She feels as if there isn't enough of her for two familieis. Nana assures her that there's plenty of her. By the time her visit is drawing to a close, Grace has begun to see her family as normal, not as a family that should fit the mold of those in the stories she's read. She decides that the story of her family will end with living happily ever after, "though not all in the same place." The pencil and watercolor illustrations are evocative of Grace's feelings and the closeness of her relationships. With Grace, children will understand that there are all kinds of families, and "families are what you make them." Ages 5-8
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster
Illustrated by Chris Raschka. 32 p., 2005. Relationships with grandparents can be a special source of joy and security for children. In this story by the author of the absolutely wonderful children's novel The Phantom Tollbooth, a little girl has special times at her Nanna and Poppy's house. Their house has a Hello, Goodbye Window where the girl greets her grandparents when she arrives, looks for the pizza delivery person, and even expects the queen of England and tyrannosaurus rex. When it's time to go home, she blows goodbye kisses through the window. The girl shares memories with Nanna and eats Poppy's delicious breakfasts, draws pictures, enjoys Poppy's jokes, and helps Nanna in the garden. There are limits at Nanna and Poppy's house (the girl can ride her bike, but not in the street; she can collect sticks, but not bring them into the house) but these don't seem to bother the girl a bit. When Mommy and Daddy pick the girl up, she's happy to go home, but sad to leave her grandparents, and acknowledges this combination of feelings in an informative, matter-of-fact way. The girl plans to have a special Hello, Goodbye Window in her own house when she grows up to be a Nanna. The colorful, exuberant illustrations add to this story's delight. The Hello, Goodbye Window offers a sense of warmth, security, and fun, empathy with transitions, and acknowledgement of complicated emotions. Ages 4-8
Old Pig by Margaret Wild
Illustrated by Ron Brooks. 33 p., Dial, 1996. Old Pig and Granddaughter do the chores together every day, until one day Old Pig doesn't get up for breakfast. Knowing that she is going to die soon, she puts her affairs in order and takes one last long, slow walk around the town with Granddaughter, enjoying the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes. She allows Granddaughter to care for her tenderly one last time. This story offers a sweet image of a loving goodbye. Ages 3-7
Abuelita's Paradise by Carmen Santiago Nodar
Illustrated by Diane Paterson.32 p., Whitman, 1992.
As this story begins, Marita's father gives her her grandmother's rocking chair, saying that Abuelita wanted her to have it. Marita sits in the chair and remembers sitting in Abuelita's lap in the chair as she told her stories of her childhood on a sugar cane farm in Puerto Rico. Abuelita tells Marita that Puerto Rico is paradise. Toward the end of the book, the author tells us that Abuelita has died. Marita's mother sits with her in the rocking chair and both feel embraced by Abuelita's presence, shown in the illustrations as a shadowy image. Marita daydreams about traveling to Puerto Rico someday, feeling that she truly has her Abuelita with her. Children will understand that when someone close dies, their stories are still a part of you.
Ages 3-8
As this story begins, Marita's father gives her her grandmother's rocking chair, saying that Abuelita wanted her to have it. Marita sits in the chair and remembers sitting in Abuelita's lap in the chair as she told her stories of her childhood on a sugar cane farm in Puerto Rico. Abuelita tells Marita that Puerto Rico is paradise. Toward the end of the book, the author tells us that Abuelita has died. Marita's mother sits with her in the rocking chair and both feel embraced by Abuelita's presence, shown in the illustrations as a shadowy image. Marita daydreams about traveling to Puerto Rico someday, feeling that she truly has her Abuelita with her. Children will understand that when someone close dies, their stories are still a part of you.
Ages 3-8
Grandmama's Pride by Becky Birtha
Illustrated by Colin Bootman.32 p., Whitman, 2006.
How can a child make sense of pervasive, inexplicable prejudice? When 6-year-old Sarah Marie and her family visit her Grandmama in the South in 1956, adult relatives protect her from segregation. Instead of telling her she isn’t allowed to drink from a drinking fountain because she is African American, Grandmama simply advises against it, suggesting that it might not be clean, and promises her homemade lemonade instead. Grandmama refuses to ride segregated buses before the organized bus boycotts, but Sarah Marie doesn’t know that; she just knows that Grandmama never rides the bus. During her visit to the South, Sarah Marie’s aunt teaches her to read. Soon she can read the signs that reserve rest rooms for “White Women” and drinking fountains for “White [people] only.” When she asks Grandmama what these mean, Grandmama explains what segregation is, adding, “’you don’t want that city water anyway … It isn’t even cold.’” Now that she can read, Sarah Marie begins protecting her 5-year-old sister in the same ways her mother and grandmother have been protecting her. By the next summer’s visit, laws have changed, and these forms of segregation have ended in Grandmama’s town. When Grandmama explains this to Sarah Marie, her triumph is clear. The watercolor illustrations are especially evocative of summer light and long-ago memories. This story shows children that with the support of a loving family, it’s possible to maintain your own internal sense of who you are, even in situations of blatant, inexplicable prejudice.
Ages 5-10
How can a child make sense of pervasive, inexplicable prejudice? When 6-year-old Sarah Marie and her family visit her Grandmama in the South in 1956, adult relatives protect her from segregation. Instead of telling her she isn’t allowed to drink from a drinking fountain because she is African American, Grandmama simply advises against it, suggesting that it might not be clean, and promises her homemade lemonade instead. Grandmama refuses to ride segregated buses before the organized bus boycotts, but Sarah Marie doesn’t know that; she just knows that Grandmama never rides the bus. During her visit to the South, Sarah Marie’s aunt teaches her to read. Soon she can read the signs that reserve rest rooms for “White Women” and drinking fountains for “White [people] only.” When she asks Grandmama what these mean, Grandmama explains what segregation is, adding, “’you don’t want that city water anyway … It isn’t even cold.’” Now that she can read, Sarah Marie begins protecting her 5-year-old sister in the same ways her mother and grandmother have been protecting her. By the next summer’s visit, laws have changed, and these forms of segregation have ended in Grandmama’s town. When Grandmama explains this to Sarah Marie, her triumph is clear. The watercolor illustrations are especially evocative of summer light and long-ago memories. This story shows children that with the support of a loving family, it’s possible to maintain your own internal sense of who you are, even in situations of blatant, inexplicable prejudice.
Ages 5-10