Something Magic

A summer visit to Gammy's place in the country evokes the magic of blueberries and moon light, a magic strong enough to overcome the sorrow of a lost kitten or the absence of Grandpa.

PreSchool-Grade 3-- A beautiful intergenerational story. A mother sits with a photo album and a young girl and remembers when she was a child spending summers with her grandmother who lived by the water. She recalls how they dug clams, raked blueberries, and colored pictures together. Although people commented on how they looked alike, the girl never saw the similarities until one night "something magic happened" and she suddenly realized that the twinkling in her grandmother's eyes was what they shared. She speculates that this is now the part of her daughter that looks like her. Young's watercolor illustrations in pastel shades depict an idyllic seaside cottage and beach. They are a wonderful combination of almost photographic realism coupled with a softness that gives them a generic quality allowing readers to call to mind a special grandmother-granddaughter combination. An enjoyable selection to use in a family story program.
- Nancy A. Gifford, Schenectady County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

During an idyllic visit with grandmother in what looks like coastal Maine, a little girl wonders how she resembles Gammy, as everyone says she does (it's the smile, she decides). The two also share confidences: the child misses the kitten that disappeared last summer; Gammy still misses Grandpa. With neither the artistry nor the energy of Anderson's Stina's Visit (p. 734)- -but the story is sweet without being saccharine, while Young's watercolors nicely evoke the lovely setting and warm relationship. (Picture book. 4-8) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.