They say that grandparents and grandchildren are natural allies. Celebrate this special relationship by reading a book about grandparents. Maybe even invite them over and read a book with your grandparents! Bonding time awaits!
Youth
Grandmas will love reading this sweet board book to the babies in their family.
Grandma and Me by Carole Boston Weatherford
Carole Boston Weatherford’s beautiful rhyming text and Ashleigh Corrin’s bright illustrations bring the love between grandmothers and grandbabies to life in this lovely board book. Each page captures a different sweet snapshot of play, fun, and love between generations, from rolling balls and dancing to snack time and sleepy snuggles!
Enjoy this picture book about spending the day with your Louisiana MawMaw.
Soggy Like Cush Cush by Karly Pierre
This picture book feels like a Louisiana memory of spending a rainy day with Grandma, running errands and stopping to chat with folks in your small town. With evocative pictures and even a recipe in the back for fabulous, sticky, sweet cush cush, Louisiana families will feel right at home!
New readers will want to visit their own grandparents after reading these fun books!
Grandparents Day! by Candice F. Ransome
This early reader invites us along on a fun day as two siblings spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa! From breakfast at a fancy restaurant to a sleepy ride home, the day is packed with fun and love!
Gigi and Ojiji by Melissa Iwai
Gigi’s grandpa is coming to stay all the way from Japan! Gigi is so excited that she’s learned words in Japanese, and she’s planning to invite him to do some of her favorite things, but when things don’t go as planned, can she still find a way to make it work?
When grandparents share their wisdom and experiences, they may turn out to be more interesting than you first thought!
The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi
Maha loves journalism and film making. Reporting is her thing. She’s on the case 24/7, right up until her Dadi (grandmother) moves in all the way from Pakistan! Stuck “babysitting” an elder who doesn’t really fit in, Maha is not happy at all with the changes to her family. However, as she gets to know her Pakistani grandmother, Maha discovers that Dadi has seen huge changes in the world that Maha can only imagine…maybe Maha has found the perfect subject for her journalism project after all!
These non-fiction titles include a biography and a collection of poems that honor grandparents and what they contribute to our lives.
The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang
Struggling with poverty and being different from her peers, Kalia learns to appreciate the things she does have through the stories her grandmother tells of her Hmong youth far away and long ago. Her beloved grandmother’s tales of trying to find food for her siblings and fleeing tigers bring much-needed perspective, but her love brings the greatest perspective of all!
Grandparent Poems by John Miklos Jr. et al.
This collection of fun and moving poems honors grandparents in all forms, from those you are born with to those you acquire along the way! Telling of both the fun had together and honoring those we lost, Grandparent Poems has something for every grandkid.
TWEENS AND TEENS
Grandparents are good for a little adventure and a lot of love. Just ask the teens in these books!
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone
How to go on an unplanned road trip with your grandma:
■ Grab a Suitcase: Prepacked from the big spring break trip that got CANCELLED.
■ Fasten Your Seatbelt: G’ma’s never conventional, so this trip won’t be either.
■ Use the Green Book: G’ma’s most treasured possession. It holds history, memories, and the way home.
Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
Merci’s grandfather and most trusted ally, Lolo, has been acting strangely lately. No one in her family will tell Merci what’s going on, so she’s left to her own worries while also feeling all on her own at school. In a coming-of-age tale full of humor and wisdom, award-winning author Meg Medina gets to the heart of the confusion and constant change that defines middle school—and the steadfast connection that defines family.
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the “Indian-ness in her blood,” travels from Ohio to Idaho with her grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, met a “potential lunatic,” and whose mother disappeared. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe’s story, her own story begins to unfold—the story of a 13-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.
The Astonishing Color After by Emily X.R. Pan (for older teens)
Leigh Chen Sanders is certain about one thing—when her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she chases after ghosts, uncovers family secrets, and forges a new relationship with her grandparents. As she grieves, she tries to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her secret crush, her mother was taking her own life.
