Newcomer Bercaw has written an affecting story of Jennifer’s fears and joys when her Korean halmoni, or grandmother, flies from her peaceful village to take part in a school Grandparents’ Day program. Hunt’s (Jacob's Gift, not reviewed) wonderfully sensitive oils are a perfect accompaniment in soft pastels that almost appear to be seen through gauze. Halmoni has flown 14 hours of time zones to get there; in Hunt’s painting, her face and posture show her weariness as well as the joy she feels at its end. Jennifer is torn—so glad to meet her that she leans forward to rest her cheek on Halmoni’s as Dad drives them home from the airport—but fearful of her differences. Her grandmother wears a beautiful silk dress, not running shoes and athletic outfits like her friends’ grandmothers will wear to the next day’s program. Then, too, Halmoni will be asked to share a family memory, and Mom and Dad have to translate for Halmoni even to Jennifer. But Halmoni reads Jennifer’s mind, perhaps because she learned to read her father’s mind when he returned from war, as readers discover when Mom translates Halmoni’s softly chiming words to the class. Readers can see in her face that Halmoni also worries as she waits to speak—a truly expressive portrait. Halmoni captivates her audience, as she will the audience for this stellar debut. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8037-2444-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2000
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.
Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.
Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
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