grandmother and grandchild

Babushka’s Doll

Natasha isn’t really a bad girl. It’s just that she wants to play on the swing now, not after the wash has been hung up to dry. And she wants her soup now, not after the goats have been fed. Looking after Natasha keeps Babushka, Natasha’s grandmother, very busy.Then, after lunch, Natasha notices a doll sitting on Babushka’s shelf…a doll Babushka tells Natasha she played with just once when she was a little girl. When Natasha plays with the doll while Babushka goes to the store for groceries, she discovers why once is enough with Babushka’s doll…and finds out just how tiring it can be to take care of a child who wants everything now.

Azzi In Between

Azzi and her parents are in danger. They have to leave their home and escape to another country on a frightening journey by car and boat. In the new country they must learn to speak a new language, find a new home and Azzi must start a new school. With a kind helper at the school, Azzi begins to learn English and understand that she is not the only one who has had to flee her home. She makes a new friend, and with courage and resourcefulness, begins to adapt to her new life. But Grandma has been left behind and Azzi misses her more than anything. Will Azzi ever see her grandma again? Drawing on her own experience of working among refugee families, renowned author and illustrator Sarah Garland tells, with tenderness and humour, an exciting adventure story to be enjoyed by readers of all ages.Endorsed by Amnesty International.

Seaside Dream

At a beachside birthday party, a young girl finds a way to give her grandmother the perfect present plus the courage to plan a trip to her home country, Cape Verde.

The Case of the Missing Deed

Five cousins are looking forward to their annual vacation at their grandmother’s cottage. None of them knows that this may be their last such summer. A mining company has set its sights on the land and is determined to seize it. Grandma must produce the deed to prove that the property is really hers, but her memory is not what it used to be, and she can’t find it. If she can’t remember where it’s hidden, she will lose her home. The children aren’t about to let that happen. Losing their grandfather was bad enough, and they are determined to find where he stashed the deed before he died.

When the kids discover mysterious messages written on their favorite recipes, they begin to understand Grandpa has left clues that lead to the secret hiding place. As the community divides and Grandma loses all hope, the cousins suspect even those closest to them of betrayal.

Yuki’s Ride Home

After a perfect day together with Grandma—feeding koi in the pond, folding origami paper in the garden, eating a delicious dinner, and listening to the “night music” by the water—Yuki realizes too late that night has come. Waving goodbye to Grandma, Yuki knows she’ll have to be brave to make it home without anyone’s help. Even though Grandma wants her three pets to accompany Yuki home, Yuki sends them back, because she doesn’t want Grandma to be lonely.

A Sunburned Prayer

sunburnedAs he makes a 17-mile pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayo that he hopes will save his grandma from cancer, 11-year-old Eloy is joined by a friendly dog that helps him keep going.

Braids/Trencitas

This bilingual story shows the importance of family and of reading, while also emphasizing the rewards of passing along cultural traditions. Beautiful illustrations portray the moving story of Bela and her grandma, who love to tell stories, braid hair, and play lotería with the family: “Our stories, like our braids, bind us forever.”

Little Voice (In The Same Boat Series, 4)

A young Ojibway girl, struggling over the fact that her father has died, spends a summer in the bush with her grandmother and finds her own identity and voice. Things have been hard for her family since her father’s accidental death in a logging accident, and Ray has been unable to express her grief. In school, the green eyes she inherited from her father are unusual for a child from an Ojibway background in a northern Ontario town and get her noticed in ways she doesn’t enjoy. At home, Ray believes that her mother, grieving herself and busy with Ray’s younger brother and sister, no longer needs her. Ray becomes so withdrawn that at times she hardly speaks. At the end of this beautiful and empowering story, which begins in 1978, the withdrawn green-eyed girl has found her voice and is not afraid to use it.