From Me to You - Hardcover

Rogers, Paul

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531057321 ISBN 13: 9780531057322

Publisher: Orchard Books (NY), 1988

Synopsis

A grandmother shares her memories of three generations with a young granddaughter and presents her with a precious gift.

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3 A simple rhymed tale that traces a family through three genera tions. Grandma tells the story to her granddaughter, starting with her own birth 80 years before. Inside were gas lamps and firelight, she says, and the illustrations show a cozy Edwardian in terior. Grandma goes on to describe her christening, siblings, childhood pranks and dreams, and eventual marriage. The couple have a child; her husband goes off to war (never to return, it is explained in a note at the end of the book). The narrative winds down when grandma presents the grandchild with a handkerchief. Its lace trim has adorned, in succession, grandma's christening robe, wedding gown, and baby's bassinette. The book has a wispy charm. It's fun to contrast the turn-of-the-century scenes with those occurring in the late 1930s. Unfortu nately, while the watercolor illustra tions provide interest, the text never rises above merely adequate. In addi tion, the account is slight and ends too soon. Surely the granddaughter listen ing to the story wants it to end with her arrival. There are many fine grand mother stories for the same age group; Tomie DePaola's Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs (Putnam, 1973) deals specifically with the notion of family continuity and does so far more effec tively. Ellen D. Warwick, Robbins Junior Library, Arlington, Mass.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

"I came headfirst into this world eighty years ago," a grandmother muses. In simple rhyming verse, she tells of her childhood and marriage, and the birth of her own child. At the end, she gives her listening granddaughter a handkerchief made of the lace that once decorated her own christening robea gesture that serves as a visible symbol of the continuity between generations, which is the unspoken theme of this quietly affecting tale. Rogers's text is straightforward, evocative and unsentimental, reminding readers that parents and grandparents were once young and full of mischief themselves. Johnson's delicate watercolors paint a warm picture of family life and provide illuminating details of bygone eras. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books (NY)
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0531057321
• ISBN 13: 9780531057322
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Johnson Jane