MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group calls Grandpa Green “the book grownups read to those still growing.”
Picture Book Fiction
Age Range: 5-9 years
Grade Level: Kindergarten-4th
Published by Roaring Book Press,
Holtzbrinck Publishing Holdings
Ltd Partnership
Text and Illustrations
Copyright © 2011 by Lane Smith
AWARDS
A Caldecott Honor Book
A New York Times Best Illustrated Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book
Silver Medal Society of Illustrators
An Amazon Best Book
Kansas City Star Top 100 Books
A Barnes & Noble Best Book
A School Library Journal Best Book
Seven Impossible Things Top Ten
A Time Out New York Kids Best Book
Junior Library Guild Selection
Starred Review by Publishers Weekly
Starred Review by School Library Journal
WHY GRANDPA GREEN IS A KEM GEM
KRISTI’S TAKE
GRANDPA GREEN ornamentally grows our imagination, and creates a place like paradise. This quiet story dedicated to a grandparent derives its energy from the wonderfully clever illustrations. What makes GRANDPA GREEN standout from other sentimental picture books that chronicle a life are the clever, conflicted, laugh-and-cry moments; especially the ending. GRANDPA GREEN reminds both the young and the old that there’s a resolution to every problem, even the ones that seem the most unfortunate.Lane has created a masterpiece with humor and heART.
Favorite line
“But the important stuff, the garden remembers for him.”
ELISE’S TAKE
Using an art form within an art form, Smith has done it again. His illustrations of topiary designs are brimming with texture, humor, and profound depth as they explore pieces of a fictional gardener’s biography. While some shapes are immediately apparent, I found I could not rush through this book. Each spread demands that the reader pause, or else risk missing a visual surprise. A dramatic four-page gatefold at the ends elaborately reviews the entire story of the gardener’s well-lived life.Smith’s quiet story explores a wide range of universal emotions, and undoubtedly sparks imagination and discussion across generations of readers.
MARRAS’ TAKE
Wowee! Wow! Wow! I want what Lane Smith eats for breakfast. Who else would have thought to narrate a story about a long and fulfilling life through a great-grandson’s guided topiary tour? Smith’s enigmatic illustrations and elegant silence drew me to one conclusion. Each page turn dazzled me with a new truth.GRANDPA GREEN covers the three “r’s” of relationship, reverence, and remembering. The Ancient Greek symbol of regeneration and rebirth, GREEN, provides the perfect color scheme for a book about the generational gift of life–and the ultimate last name for Great Grandpa. This timeless and gentle book will bless generations to our great-grandchildren and beyond.
Favorite line (Kristi and I didn’t compare notes. Honest.)
“But the important stuff, the garden remembers for him.”
What do you like most about GRANDPA GREEN?