Grandpa's Stories

A sensitive child grapples with the impending loss of her kind, gray-haired grandfather as the two spend time together throughout the seasons. In autumn, he makes her a notebook; in winter, she sits on his lap as he "tells me tales from when he was a boy, of Indian sweets and homemade toys." Using conditional statements with lyrical metaphors and similes, the girl imagines the ways she might hold onto him: "If all the world were springtime, I would replant my grandpa's birthdays so that he would never get old." Colpoys illustrates with loose, painterly lines in citrus and light blue shades--the child is pictured surrounded by an overgrown meadow of blooming wildflowers, her dark scribbly curls visually echoing the plants' tendrils. After her grandfather dies, the girl discovers that writing and drawing her memories of him helps keep him close. Readers mourning a grandparent or other family member may find solace through Coelho's sentiments about love living on through cherished memories. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

PreS-Gr 3--This is a gentle tale about a young girl processing the death of her beloved grandpa. The title opens with a small child holding her grandpa's hand. He says, "You're too old to hold hands." The next page depicts the duo looking up at a bird's nest and talking: "We explore hand in hand the budding springtime." Even though the message is a difficult one, the illustrations effectively lighten the mood. For example, the next page of text says, "If all the world were springtime I would replant my grandpa's birthdays so that he would never get old." There is a two-page spread of illustrations showing the girl surrounded by wildflowers, including red poppies, red coneflowers, white daisies, and yellow black-eyed Susans, as critters such as brightly colored butterflies, ladybugs and a snail enjoy the world. The story goes through the seasons and portrays the girl and her grandpa enjoying adventures together. His death is conveyed when the readers are shown grandpa's empty chair with his slippers. The narrative continues with the girl helping her parents clean Grandpa's room and discovering he kept souvenirs of their special times together. To honor his memory, she writes and draws about past experiences with Grandpa. VERDICT A highly recommended first purchase for public and school libraries, and a good resource for parents and children trying to figure out ways to cope with grief.--Robin Sofge, Prince William Public Library System, VA