Grandmother and I
Name of Book : Grandmother and I
Author : Helen E. Buckley
Illustrator: Jan Ormerod
Publisher: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
Audience : Ages 3 to 8
Summary: A child considers laps: mother’s lap, father’s lap, brother and sister’s backs (because they won’t let her sit in their laps), grandfather’s lap. But Grandmother’s lap is the best place to be when she needs comforting.
Literary elements at work in the story: Told through the eyes of a small girl, the many times, ways, and places that her family’s laps are good for her to sit on are explored. However, when the cat is missing, or she has a bad cold, or a storm is coming, it’s her grandmother’s lap that is “just right.” This book uses laps to celebrate familial love and the illustrations are lovely.
Perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability: This is a tale of a “typical” family: mom, dad, siblings, and grandparents. The family in the story is a black family but could be any family anywhere.
Scripture: 1 Timothy 5.4
Theology: This is a delightful story about intergenerational love and the special bond between a child and her grandmother.
Faith Talk Questions:
- Whose lap is your favorite to sit on? Why?
- When you are sick or afraid or worried, who do you go to?
- Is there someone at church who isn’t in your family whose lap you’d like to sit on? Have you ever done it? What happened?
Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Kelly Hames
Grandmother and I by Storypath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.