If I Had As Many Grandchildren As You...

by Lori Stewart

Overview

"A perfect gift book for grandparents and grandparents to be!"

If I had as many grandchildren as you... is an inventive, eye-catching picture book written for grandparents to enjoy with their grandchildren. It gives advice in rhyme on places to go, wonders to see, lessons to teach and fanciful uplifting things to do with grandchildren.

Through lively, warm-hearted verse, an optimistic message, and eye-catching photographic illustrations, this whimsical and uplifting book is a journey of discovery for children looking for 'adventuresome fun', and for grandparents finding their very special role as 'memory makers'. The book sparks imagination and creativity, and inspires children to dream and explore and discover that place outside themselves, where they learn about sharing and caring. The book inspires grandparents to make time to make memories with their grandchildren.

The story is narrated by 'Grand Paws, a wise old lion who gives advice to a befuddled grandfather about wondrous places to go, lessons to teach and uplifting things to do with his grandchildren. The story celebrates extraordinary art forms (driftwood horses), natural phenomena (upside down rainbows), wonders of the ancient world, and 'pop' culture. The captioned photographs show that it is quite possible to do nearly everything in this book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780983929307
Publisher:	Palmar Press
Publication date:	10/25/2011
Pages:	34
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

In Stewart's debut picture book, a grandparent's dilemma about how to spend time with "a gaggle of grandchildren" is answered in rhyme by a wise old lion, backed by colorful photographs that illustrate his wide-ranging advice. Lounging in a backyard vegetable garden, Grand Paws, a lion in a baseball cap, tells his human counterpart what he would do "if I had as many grandchildren as you": take them to the beach to make sand castles, fly with them on an imaginary trip around the world (via a giant unicorn made of driftwood) and help them make costumes for a wild animal parade "through the poppy fields up to the trees / Where grandkids could sing just as loud as they please!" He would read them stories "and teach them to fish / And give them all stars upon which they could wish." After a rooftop feast of popovers and pink lemonade, "We'd race around chasing big dreams and small bugs / Then gather around for a round of group hugs!" Creativity, imagination, sharing and caring are Stewart's overall cross-generational themes, and she conveys them nicely through lively verse and a collection of vivid photographs that color each facing page. Stewart's rhyming couplets gallop along, begging to be read aloud and easily holding young readers' attention. And while some of the photos have a generic or amateurish feel, they effectively illustrate the wide world of wonder and possibilities suggested by the book, and simple captions beneath some photos set Grand Paws' advice into a real-world context. Particularly captivating are the images of portaledges (hanging tents) and a flash of green as the sun dips below the horizon. A photo-rich picture book that engagingly suggests a myriad of fun activities brought to life by Stewart's bouncy, heartfelt verse.

Kirkus Reviews