“Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.” — Alex Haley
Here are EIGHT picture books that celebrate the bond between grandparents and their grandchildren.
1) "Winter Sleep" by Sean Taylor & Alex Morss and illustrated by Cinyee Chiu is one of my favourite books about winter and it just happens to include a great relationship between a grandmother and grandson. We love the illustrations and how nature is showcased.
2) "When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree" by Jamie L.B. Deenihan and illustrated by Lorraine Rocha is a fun one about turning lemons into lemonade. When a granddaughter gets a birthday gift that she wasn't expecting, she makes the best of it.
3) "I Dream of Popo" by Livia Blackburne and illustrated by Julia Kuo is an emotional story about a girl who has to say goodbye to her popo (grandmother) when her family emegrates from Taiwan to the United States.
4) "Drawn Together" by Minh Le and Dan Santat was enjoyed by my 6-9 year old art students. They loved the comic book style and the detailed illustrations. This is about a grandfather and grandson who seem to not have much in common. They finally realize that they share a love of art that connects them.
5) "My Day with Gong Gong" by Sennah Yee and illustrated by Elaine Chen is a sweet story of a girl and her gong gong (grandfather) who have a fun day together, regardless of a language barrier.
6) "Maud and Grand-Maud" by Sara O'Leary and illustrated by Kenard Pak reminds readers that their elders were once young also! After learning about her Grand-Maud's earlier years, Maud dreams of being a Grand-Maud herself.
7) "A Morning with Grandpa" by Sylvia Liu and illustrated by Christina Forshay is a fun book that reminds me of my dad and my daughter. In this story, both gong gong (grandfather) and granddaughter have different ways of staying active and moving their bodies.
8) "When We Were Alone" by David A. Robertson and Julie Flett is about a child learning the harsh realities of her kôhkom's (grandmother's) experiences at Residential School. It is a good book to introduce the difficult topic with young children. We are big fans of Julie Flett's illustrations.
So, those are eight of my favourite GRANDPARENT picture books.
Have you read any of these? Which book would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments!
