I Love My Grandpa; I Love Grandma

I Love My Grandpa and I Love Grandma written and illustrated by Anna Walker (Scholastic)
HB RRP $12.99
Recommended for 1+ years
Reviewed by Dawn Meredith

How adorable are these books! I fell in love with Ollie when I reviewed Anna’s previous books in the series, such as I Love My Mum, but there is something even more charming and nostalgic about I Love My Grandpa and its twin book I Love My Grandma. I do like the way the wording of each title suggests belonging, which is so important for the young child. This book reinforces the lovely bond between child and grandparents, those marvellous people with life experience and, lets face it, a little less angst!

In I Love My Grandpa, Ollie explores and shares Grandpa’s day with various activities such as gardening, going for walks, admiring the wonderful creatures of nature, such as frogs and chooks and ducks. Not once do they sit down in front of the TV or computer. Hooray!

But what I love best is to hug Grandpa tight.
He tickles my ears and kisses me goodnight.

I Love My Grandma explores preparing and enjoying a picnic indoors, playing and singing all afternoon. Then while Ollie has a bath with lots of lovely bubbles Grandma sits and knits. Too cute! Ollie loves the way Grandma calls him her ‘cuddly bear’.

But what I love best is to snuggles up close
beside my grandma, who loves me the most.

These gentle stories are heart warming and hey, what’s wrong with that? There ought to be more quiet times with children, to sit and share a book, or wander through the garden. Children come across sometimes as if they want nothing but excitement, but we all know that they need bonding times too. This series provides just such an opportunity. I will now step down from my soapbox!

The soft water colours add a wistful twist that reminds us of our own best childhood memories and the simple rhyming scheme suits the subject matter perfectly. I would like to add that these books make great beginning reader books too. The hardcover 17.5cmx16cm format is a nice size and the cover illustrations are very sweet.

More information about Anna’s other books can be found at http://www.annawalker.com/

Dawn Meredith is a May Gibbs Fellow and writes from the Blue Mountains. Visit her blog for more info: http://www.dawnmeredithauthor.blogpost.com/