“Grandma Heaven” and “Grandpa Heaven”
Shutta Crum and Ruth McNally Barshaw are two of my most favorite people in the kid lit world. They have two new books out, “Grandma Heaven” and “Grandpa Heaven” that sweetly feature my own parents as two of the people enjoying the afterlife.
Is Heaven a fun-filled place of laughter, companionship, and love? Who knows. Perhaps it’s
simply a state of the universal/eternal mind. Regardless, Shutta Crum knows that here in this
corporeal world there are young worriers who’ve suddenly lost a beloved grandparent, and those
bereft children need to be consoled. Shutta began working on Grandma Heaven and Grandpa
Heaven years ago when her four-year-old grandchild asked, “Are you going to die, Grammy?”
Shutta reassured her granddaughter that that was not going to happen for a long time. But the
child’s question sparked the idea for these two books about grandparents having a great time in
Heaven. The grandparents drive snazzy cars in Heaven, study prehistoric animals, have pets,
bake, read, knit, bowl, tinker with broken things, and zip in on zip-lines. But the most important
job of a grandparent in the afterlife is watching over all the grandchildren of the world and
sending the memory of a hug when it is needed. Importantly, these two books are non-religious
and multicultural. Heaven in Grandma Heaven and Grandpa Heaven is populated by
grandparents from around the world so that all children can rest assured that their grandparents’
love never dies.
Grandma Heaven and Grandpa Heaven (published by Lawley Books, 2023) can be found online
wherever books are sold. Also, ask for them at your local bookstore, or to be purchased by your
local library. Paperback editions available: Sept. 28, 2023. Spanish editions: January 2024.
SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK!
See these cuties from GROUNDHOG’S DILEMMA? Well, they get to be the stars of their very own companion book! SQUIRREL NEEDS A BREAK, written by me and illustrated by the wonderful Matt Faulkner will by published by Charlesbridge in Spring of 2024! Watch this space for more updates. Hooray!
On a Snow-Melting Day: Seeking Signs of Spring
April is Poetry Month and in Michigan it’s also a month full of “puddle-sploshing, crocus-poking, mitten-soaking” days. This month’s book is On a Snow-Melting Day: Seeking Signs of Spring by Buffy Silverman.
This simple poetry book is full of rhyme and imagery paired with gorgeous photos. It’s a list poem with onomatopoeia. You can read each line and see if it applies to your surroundings. Do you live where “mist lifts”? What do you see from the book that you can see when you go outside? Take your kids outside and have them point out what they see. Make a list and turn it into a list poem. See if you can come up with some cool onomatopoeia and maybe take photos. It’s a wonderful invitation to go outside and enjoy the poetry of the changing seasons. Remember to bring boots for puddle-sploshing!
It’s important: “Let’s Talk About Race”
Talking about race is hard for me, but that doesn’t let me off the hook. Racism isn’t either/or, as in I don’t shout hateful slurs therefore I’m not racist. I’m racist because I’d rather hide any prejudice I have from growing up as a white, middle-class, suburban female in America than have important conversations where I might feel uncomfortable. My silence won’t help our kids. So let’s talk about it.
Let’s Talk About Race was written by Julius Lester and illustrated by Karen Barbour. Lester, who sadly died in 2018, wrote, “I am a story. So are you. So is everyone.” He wanted kids to know that being African-American was an important part of his story, not the entirety of it. He wanted to engage kids in conversations to see our differences and our commonalities. “What is your favorite food, your religion, your favorite color, your nationality? All of these things are a part of our stories.” But, he reminds us all, “…some stories are true. Some are not. Those who say ‘MY RACE IS BETTER THAN YOUR RACE’ are telling a story that is not true.”
After you read Let’s Talk About Race with your kids, talk about race! Open up a safe conversation where students can share and ask questions. Work hard not to deny experiences, and challenge with compassion any statements that make others “less than.” And talk about all the other wonderful parts of our stories, from favorite foods to hair color to pet peeves. You can make a questionnaire based on all the elements Lester talks about for kids to answer about themselves. Then, kids can find someone who had the same answer on their list. When we help our children talk about race and equality, we help build a stronger, kinder world.
Read MoreGuess Who Is Out of the Den?
