Grandma's Gloves - Hardcover

Castellucci, Cecil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 076363168X ISBN 13: 9780763631680

Publisher: Candlewick, 2010

Synopsis

From a debut illustrator comes a story about a child who loses a beloved grandparent finds comfort in carrying on the activities they shared in this sweet, genuine look at a universal rite of passage. 

Grandma is always on her knees in the dirt, with her gardening gloves on, talking to her roses and laughing with the birds-of-paradise. Her home brims with plants and blossoms, and on hot days, she waters her granddaughter, her "most special flower of all," with the garden hose. But a day comes when Grandma is no longer there to care for the little girl, who feels sad and small and alone until she remembers all that her grandmother taught her — and all that she now has to teach. Full of light and life and the solace of green growing things, this moving and beautifully illustrated picture book explores a timeless bond with warmth and joy.

About this title

About the Author:

Cecil Castellucci is the author of many acclaimed books for older readers, including Boy Proof, The Queen of Cool, and Beige. This is her first picture book. She lives in Los Angeles.

Julia Denos earned a BFA in illustration from The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University. She lives outside of Boston.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 1-3–“Grandma has a way with flowers,” reports the young narrator of this sweet tribute to intergenerational relationships and the circle of life. Readers know right away all the important things about the child's grandmother: the way she smells, the kind of tea she pours, her green thumb, and that she sometimes repeats things. This one characteristic foreshadows the woman's decline in health. When she is hospitalized and later dies, readers are as accepting of this last stage of life as is her granddaughter, who says, “Everything dies one day. I know that.” Taking Grandma's gardening gloves as a keepsake, she promises to teach her own mother what she has learned about gardening, closing the circle of birth, death, and renewal. Castellucci's narrative details give voice to the perspicacity of a sensitive child–the smells, gestures, and alterations of experience that are noticed but rarely articulated. Denos's watercolor, pencil, and digital collage illustrations are bright and charming. Her depictions of the interactions of the winsome main character and her family will evoke recognition in readers and add to the story's usefulness as a primer for family loss.Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 076363168X
• ISBN 13: 9780763631680
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Denos Julia