Something About Grandma by Tania de Regil
Published by Candlewick Press on August 9, 2022
ISBN: 1536201944
Pages: 40
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Goodreads

A lovely, quiet picture book about the magic of grandmas – their special gifts and their individuality. The writing is simple and carries the reader along as the narrator, Julia, a child, learns more about her grandmother while spending time with her at the grandmother’s home outside Mexico City. Julia changes from observer to fellow adventurer and finds maturity and her own maternal qualities along the way. It gently points to grandmas as individuals quietly teaching what that they know (seemingly through magic).

The illustrations use a collage of poems handwritten in Spanish (written by the author’s great-grandfather and transcribed by her grandmother) and a soft palette of blues for the nuclear family, while the grandmother is rendered in rose colors. This will make a great one-on-one read aloud for connecting generations.

Reviewed by Deanna Contrino, Young School Library, Saco