Elem. – Love Makes a Garden Grow

Yoo, Taeeun. Love Makes a Garden Grow. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2023. 978-1-534-44286-3. Unpaged. $18.99. Grades K-2.

Among a garden full of beautiful blooms and lush greens, a young girl grows. With a watchful, loving eye, her grandfather cares for her and his plentiful plants. The two favor different flowers – she peonies, he orchids – but they care for the garden together, humming to the plants. Surrounded by plants, the little girl feels her grandfather’s love. As she grows and experiences life’s changes – like moving away and eventually having a family of her own – plants make her feel like she is loved and home.

THOUGHTS: This sweet intergenerational story would be perfect to celebrate grandparent’s day. Stunning pencil illustrations are brought to life with digital coloring. Highly recommended.

Picture Book

Elem. – Nana, Nenek & Nina

Ferneyhough, Liza. Nana, Nenek & Nina. Dial Books for Young Readers, 2022. 978-0-593-35394-3. Unpaged. $17.99. Grades K-2.

Nina loves visiting her grandmothers, one who lives in Malaysia and one who lives in England. Nina goes back and forth between each grandmother explaining the different and similar things that she does with them. Each grandmother has a garden, each visits the market, and each one cooks dinner but each one is slightly different based on where they live. Nina has a little dinosaur that she brings with her, so the reader can have fun finding the dinosaur hidden in each illustration. The text can be complicated to follow at times, but the journey of watching Nina visit each grandmother is wonderful to follow along with.

THOUGHTS: This would be a great book to share for a grandparents day event; however, it might not be the best read-aloud with extremely young children as it can be complicated the way the text is set up. 

Picture Book          Mary McEndree, Lehigh Valley Regional Charter Academy

Elem. – My Hands Tell a Story

Lyons, Kelly Starling. My Hands Tell a Story. Reycraft Books, 2022. 978-1-478-87061-6. 36 p. $17.95. Grades K-3. 

When Zoe’s grandmother waves her into the kitchen so they can bake bread together, Zoe is mesmerized by the magic and power in her grandmother’s hands. Grandma’s hands knead, push, and pull the dough until it’s just right. Grandma gently guides Zoe’s hands through the motions as well. While they wait for the dough to rise, the pair sit and talk. Readers learn about Grandma’s past and all the things her hands have done: Raised children, planted gardens, typed and filed. Zoe wonders what she might accomplish with her own hands someday, considering possibilities like drawing, building, writing, making music, and baking. When she and Grandma high-five to celebrate the first bites of their freshly-baked treat, Grandma notes that although Zoe’s hands are similar to her own, they will go places Grandma has never been. This inspiring, intergenerational story is rooted in love and celebrates the strong bond between grandmother and granddaughter. Vibrant, oil-painted illustrations beautifully capture heartfelt moments and the closeness these two share. The endpapers include a recipe for the same cinnamon bread Zoe and her grandma bake together in the book. 

THOUGHTS: Many students will make connections to the idea of cooking or baking a favorite food with a grandparent. This will also be a perfect choice for Grandparents’ Day read-alouds. Additionally, this title can be used as a discussion starter about things students hope to accomplish with their own two hands. 

Picture Book          Anne Bozievich, Southern York County SD