Grandmas Are Greater Than Great

by James Solheim, Derek Desierto (Illustrator)

Overview

Millions of grandmas have led to one very, very special and unique person—you!

A humorous, animated, and informative look at the lasting power of ancestors. Explore families, generations, and girl power in this heartfelt collaboration between James Solheim and bestselling illustrator Derek Desierto.

Everyone has two grandmas, and every grandma has her own two grandmas. This cycle continues going back through time and history. And you needed them all for you to be you!

Traveling from generation to generation, this dynamic picture book offers young readers a bird’s-eye view of how daily life has changed over time. But despite all the differences, one thing has remained the same: a grandma’s love. 

James Solheim’s lively text and Derek Desierto’s exuberant illustrations capture the delights and challenges each daughter, mother, and grandma encountered. This rich multigenerational story explores the idea that we are all the product of those who came before us, and it will be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Grandmas Are Greater Than Great includes basic information on exponential growth and a family tree.

A gift of a book for every girl to read with her grandma.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062671233
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/09/2021
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

James Solheim is the author of It’s Disgusting and We Ate It!, illustrated by Eric Brace. Powered as a child by his grandmas’ Norwegian cooking—lefse and sandbakkels and søtsuppe (potato tortillas, sugar cookies, and sweet soup)—he now speaks Norwegian with his own kids and continues his family’s traditions. But his grandmas’ kindness is his biggest family tradition of all. He lives in Nebraska.

Derek Desierto is a designer, an artist for animated TV shows, and the illustrator of the New York Times–bestselling picture book Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes, by Eva Chen, among other titles. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Editorial Reviews

2020-11-27
Witnesses in turn to wagon trains west, the first streetlight, the Great Depression, and World War II, the generations give way to Woodstock’s wild child and social media maniacs.

Regardless of when in time one happens to browse, a grandmother is making sure the next generations are happy and whole. The narration unfolds in a second-person address, so eight greats in the past has “your” ancestor cruising the 1700s. Five greats back finds “your” three-steps-nearer forebear in a one-room schoolhouse in the 1800s. Three greats has her feet planted in the early 1900s. And finally, the latest in a line of grinning wonders (all White-presenting) is smiling out into the 21st century. Solheim takes a 250-year-long trek to illustrate the generational chain that ends with a young mother and her daughter. However, his chronology doesn’t quite mesh with the narrative. “You” are the young hippie’s grandchild, newborn child of the baby she took to Woodstock in 1969. Yet “your” youthful-looking mother must be in her 40s as she holds a swaddled-up “you,” with “your” ex-hippie grandma and other relatives snapping pics on their smartphones. This is not the only extreme generational step. Desierto’s colorful collage images are also out of sync with the narrative. A family with only one bowl to their name has a tablecloth, a pitcher, and a matching cup? A concluding page presents a chart illustrating the number of grandmas that converge in a single person. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.5-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

For a story that places its emphasis on the exponential math of doubling generations, the facts don’t add up. (Picture book. 4-9)

Kirkus Reviews