Review - It's Good to Have a Grandma

It's Good to Have a Grandma
by Maryann Macdonald
illustrated by Priscilla Burris
Date: 2019
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 36
Format: e-book
Source: library

Children and grandmothers love playing together, eating together—just being together. Every time is a special time, for both. This book captures the special moments without sentimentality, but with warmth and love.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

It's Good to Have a Grandma suffers from being a little too general in places. A good portion of the book is spent telling readers what grandmas do. Unfortunately, those things aren't going to apply to everyone. As an adult, I spent a lot of the time reading those sections thinking, "My grandma doesn't do that." Kids are liable to have the same reaction.

The better parts of the book are when the narrator speaks in a more specific tone: e.g., "My grandma..." Then at least we know that kid is speaking about their own experience, and not implying that everyone's is the same. If the whole book had been written like this, I probably would've liked it a lot more.

The illustrations are really cute and show a diverse variety of kids and their grandmas. It's not all little old ladies, either; some of the grandmas look fairly young (which happens... so it's nice to see them included in a book like this).

Overall, I'm not sure if I'd recommend this one or not. There's the potential, because of the way the book is written, for kids to compare their experience with that portrayed in the book and notice the mismatch. But the actual things that the grandmas do with their grandkids are sweet. I guess it's up to parents to use their discretion, and maybe read this book ahead of time to see if it's a good fit for their child. That's really about all I can suggest.

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5