Just Like Grandma

by Kim Rogers, Julie Flett (Illustrator)

Overview

Winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award and an Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor Book.

In this lyrical picture book by Kim Rogers (Wichita), with illustrations by Boston Globe–Horn Book Honoree Julie Flett (Cree-Métis), Becca watches her grandma create, play, and dance—and she knows that she wants to be just like Grandma.

Becca loves spending time with Grandma. Every time Becca says, “Let me try,” Grandma shows her how to make something beautiful.

Whether they are beading moccasins, dancing like the most beautiful butterflies, or practicing basketball together, Becca knows that, more than anything, she wants to be just like Grandma.

And as the two share their favorite activities, Becca discovers something surprising about Grandma. 

Features an author’s note and glossary. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063049246
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/24/2023
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kim Rogers is the author of Just Like Grandma, illustrated by Julie Flett. She is an enrolled member of Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and is a member of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Much of her writing highlights her Wichita heritage. Kim lives with her family on her tribe’s ancestral homelands in Oklahoma. 

Julie Flett is a Cree-Métis author, illustrator, and artist who has received numerous awards for her books, including two Governor General’s Awards, the American Indian Library Association Award, and the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Her books have been selected for Best of the Year lists by media outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, The Horn Book, the Boston Globe, School Library Journal, the Globe and Mail, and Kirkus Reviews.

Editorial Reviews

"Illustrator Flett’s (Cree-Métis) signature, spare style pairs well with author Rogers’ (Wichita) simple, repetitive text... A sweet celebration of family, intergenerational bonds, and traditions." — Kirkus Reviews

"A lovely addition to the increasingly diverse array of books focusing on the handing down of precious cultural knowledge through the give and take of intergenerational relationships." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Captivating...This book comes highly recommended for its heartwarming portrayal of intergenerational relationships and cultural heritage." — School Library Journal (starred review)

From the Publisher

2022-11-16
More than anything, Becca wants to be just like Grandma.

Sitting on the front steps beading buckskin moccasins, dancing barefoot like a beautiful butterfly, painting gorgeous sunrises in the studio, or dancing at the weekend powwow—as Becca watches and learns from her grandmother, she longs to follow in her footsteps. Meanwhile, Grandma also watches and learns from her grandchild as she practices to be on the basketball team. Grandma, too, would like to be like Becca. Readers learn that in fact with so much in common, both Grandma and Becca are indeed very much like each other. Reinforcing this intergenerational bond is a caring grandfather who feeds and nourishes the family, all the while remaining in the background, allowing grandmother and child to take center stage. Illustrator Flett’s (Cree-Métis) signature, spare style pairs well with author Rogers’ (Wichita) simple, repetitive text. Readers will infer from the activities mentioned and the visual cues in the illustrations that the family is Native American. Though no specific nation is mentioned, the use of the Wichita word to:kic (a kind of meat dish) may imply the family is from the same nation as Rogers. All characters depicted have brown skin and straight black hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet celebration of family, intergenerational bonds, and traditions. (publisher’s note, author’s note, a note on beadwork, glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews