The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
	The Bulletin Dozen is a monthly theme-based booklist available as an online-only Bulletin feature. Since we're awfully fond of bakers here at the Bulletin, we thought we'd adopt their philosophy of generosity and throw in an extra one or two when we have them to offer--so don't expect an even dozen. Please feel free to copy, download, or link to these lists. We ask only that you cite the source. See the archive for lists from previous months.
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Beyond Hugs, Kisses, and Cookies:  A Grandparent Dozen --selected by Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor If you were to judge grandparents simply by Hallmark cards and the majority of picture books, you might think that the big G-Pa and G-Ma were only good for kisses on the cheek, folksy sayings, and maybe a nice baked treat here and there.  But, as these books show, grandparents often have more than a few good stories to tell and when we listen we're in for a treat of another kind entirely.

• Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. HarperCollins, 1994. Gr. 7-12

  On a cross country road trip with her eccentric grandparents, thirteen-year-old Salamanca, “Sal,” relates the story of her best friend Phoebe and her missing mother while Sal herself searches for an explanation for her own mother’s abandonment and death. (BCCB 1/95)

• Edwards, Michelle. Zero Grandparents. Harcourt, 2001. Gr. 2-4

  When her second grade teacher announces that the class will be celebrating Grandparent’s Day, Calliope Jones feels more than a little left out: having no living grandparents, Calliope has no one to bring to class. After looking through a family album, however, and gathering some of her grandmother’s favorite things, Calliope knows she will nonetheless have a story to tell. (BCCB 4/01)

• Edwardson, Debby Dahl. Blessing’s Bead. Farrar, 2009. Gr. 6-9

  Two narratives separated by over seventy years trace the dramatic and often heartbreaking story of an Inupiaq family in Alaska. In 1917, Nutaaq is separated from her sister and forced to watch the remainder of her village fall to influenza. Years later, her great-granddaughter and namesake returns to the village to escape her dysfunctional mother and stake out a life of her own. (BCCB 2/10)

• Fenner, Carol. Snowed in With Grandmother Silk; illus. by Amanda Harvey. Dial, 2003. Gr. 2-4

  When his parents leave for a weekend trip, Ruddy is forced to stay with his very proper and very strict Grandmother Silk. His stay is extended when a freak snowstorm hits and essentially locks everyone in their houses, giving Ruddy and Grandmother Silk a unique opportunity to actually get to know one another – and the results are surprisingly pleasant. (BCCB 11/03)

   

• Hurst, Carol Otis. Terrible Storm. Greenwillow, 2007. 5-8 yrs

  When the narrator’s two grandfathers reminisce about Massachusetts’s Great Blizzard of 1888, they can’t quite decide who had it worse during the storm. Grandpa Otis, an outgoing guy, is convinced that his solitary stay in a lonely barn far exceeds shy Grandpa Clark’s experience with a boisterous and overbearing crowd at an inn. Based on true facts, this is an interesting lesson on history and perspective. (BCCB 2/07)

  
  

• Juster, Norton. The Hello, Goodbye Window; illus. by Chris Raschka. Hyperion, 2005. 5-8 yrs

  When an imaginative young girl spends the night at Nanny and Poppa’s, she spends much of her time near their special window, through which she sees the everyday activities of the household, like checking the weather and making breakfast, and the not- so-everyday events, like visiting with a Tyrannosaurus rex. (BCCB 7/05)

    

• Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. Holt, 2009. Gr. 5-8

  At the run of the twentieth century, twelve-year-old Calpurnia finds herself trying to escape the domestic future that awaits her and explore her true passion, the science of the natural world. Fortunately, her crotchety old grandfather is something of a nontraditionalist and willing to take the girl under his wing as they study the woods surrounding their home, leading to an important discovery. (BCCB 7/09)

  
  

• Marsden, Carolyn. Silk Umbrellas. Candlewick, 2004. Gr. 4-7

  In a rural Thai community, Noi spends her days learning the art of painting silk umbrellas from her grandmother, Kun Ya. Unfortunately, their lessons are soon threatened by Kun Ya’s aging body and the family’s failing finances, leaving Noi to figure out on her own how to use the artistic talent to keep the family afloat. (BCCB 3/04)

  
  

• Ransom, Candice. Finding Day’s Bottom. Carolrhoda, 2006.

  After eleven-year-old Jane Eyr’s beloved father is killed in a sawmill accident, Grandpap joins her and her mother at their Appalachian home to help makes ends meet. Jane, however, resents her grandfather’s presence until he shares an intriguing story about Day’s Bottom, a heavenly place where Jane is convinced she will find her father. (BCCB 12/06)

  
  

• Russo, Marisabina. Always Remember Me: How one Family Survived World War II; written and illus. by Marisabina Russo. Atheneum, 2005. 7-10 yrs

  This biographical picture book traces the story of the author’s grandmother, Oma, from her heroic struggle through the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany, to her separation from her daughters in the concentration camps, and eventually concludes with their reunion in the US. A trying, but ultimately happy tale, the text is accompanied by historical photographs. (BCCB 6/05)

• Stahler, David Jr. A Gathering of Shades. HarperTempest, 2005. Gr. 7-12

  Upon discovering that his beloved grandmother, Memere, converses with ghosts, Aiden is convinced that he will be able to find the spirit of his recently deceased father wandering the hills of their backwoods Vermont home. Unfortunately, what he finds instead is much more sinister and may leave him a spirit himself. (BCCB 5/05)

• Turner-Denstaedt, Melanie. The Hat That Wore Clara B.; illus. by Frank Morrison. Farrar, 2009. 5-8 yrs

  Mother's Sunday is a traditional day in African American heritage when older women wear their finest white suits and fanciest hats to church. Clara B. longs to wear her grandmother’s beautiful pink hat but when her attempts to don the item in secret go awry, she learns an important lesson about honesty and forgiveness. (BCCB 7/09)

  
  
  

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