Keepers

Gr 2-4--Kenyon lives with his widowed father and his grandmother, Little Dolly. She is a Keeper, a female member of the family who "holds on to the past until she can pass it on to the next." Kenyon loves her, her stories, and baseball. His love of the game provides the impetus for the story. Little Dolly's 90th birthday is approaching and Kenyon has saved his money to buy her a gift. Before he can make a decision about it, however, he sees the perfect baseball glove--and he buys it. Now he must grapple with his conscience, and with not having a present for Little Dolly. His father's words are comforting, but they do not erase the boy's guilt. Precocious children may guess what he decides to give his grandmother (the illustrations give the best clues)--a handmade book of her stories--but nothing distracts from the celebration. In fact, when the woman receives her gift, she decides that Kenyon can become a Keeper. The bright, acrylic illustrations, most of them full-page, take readers through the house, the small shops on Main street, and other parts of the neighborhood, to the story's ending on the family's porch. The characters are African Americans, and Little Dolly explains that the Keeper tradition goes back to Africa, but the book's theme of the loving, giving, and sharing between grandparent and child is universal. A warm, touching story.--Marie Wright, University Library, Indianapolis, IN