Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Grandpa Green

This book is delightful.  Touching.  Beautiful.  Grandpa Green is a story of memories, family, and the topiary garden that one great-grandfather creates to share his life history.

Grandpa Green's great grandson takes us on a tour of the topiary garden.  From chickenpox to wedding cakes, farmyards to battlegrounds, our little tour guide moves us through the highs and lows of his great grandfather's life.

I read this book to my little girl, and she was charmed by the creative, visual history of the garden.  Her class recently worked on a family storybook project as part of the school wide theme - Traditions.  Each kindergartner had to choose a story from their family history (recent or less so) to share with the class.  They dictated their stories to a parent, brought the story to school, and then illustrated their work.  My daughter loved this project, and reading Grandpa Green helped her understand the importance of storytelling and family history.

I recommend Lane Smith's lovely picture book to parents and grandparents who want to talk to their young ones about family legacy, memory, and love.

Blog you later!

Ali B.

2 comments:

Perogyo said...

We really loved this too! It was so sweet. What would be in your garden of memories?

Ali B said...

My garden would be filled with topiaries of books, basketballs, marching bands and beautiful dachshunds.