November 9, 2011

Grandpa Green by Lane Smith

Posted in Uncategorized tagged AR, Grandpa Green, Grandpa Green Book trailer, Lane Smith at 11:18 pm by suebe2

Grandpa Green
by Lane Smith
Roaring Brook Press
AR 2.5

Great-grandpa was born a really long time ago.  He grew up on a farm full of animals.  Read all kinds of great books when he had chicken pox and wanted to study horticulture, but a war got in the way.

Pulling a wagon full of gardening gear, the young narrator tells us all about great-grandpa’s life as demonstrated through an amazing collection of topiary.  As he moves through the garden, he finds a forgotten picnic, a lost pair of glasses and a hat and, finally, great-grandpa himself.

Lane, best known for colorful illustrations and a wacky sense of humor, tells a gentle tale of family, aging and memory — both keeping it and loosing it.  The young narrator clearly adores his great-grandfather and the garden he has created, a garden we fully expect the narrator to maintain in the future.

Better for cuddling and bed time reading than a rollicking story time, this book would be a great one for a parent or grandparent to share with a young child.  Or even for one adult to give to another.

Sweet, but not overly so, and touching, this one is sure to find a place of honor on many a bookshelf.

See why in this trailer.

–SueBE

Permalink