Please welcome my guest author Charlotte Offsay with her list of Grandma-themed Picture Books. We are giving away her picture book A Grandma’s Magic. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom.
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My grandma lives overseas in England and I don’t get to see her as often as I would like. I, therefore, find myself drawn to books that highlight and celebrate the grandma-grandchild bond as they often leave me feeling like she somehow isn’t so many miles away. I wrote A Grandma’s Magic to celebrate the magic that grandmas bring to our life and am sharing it below, along with some of my favorite grandma-themed picture books. I hope you find your own special relationships reflected in the pages and enjoy them as much as I do.
Grandma-themed Picture Books
A Grandma’s Magic by Charlotte Offsay, illustrated by Asa Gilland
“When a child is born, a grandma is born too. Grandmas aren’t like regular grown-ups. Grandmas are filled with magic.” A Grandma’s Magic is a picture book celebration of grandmas, how their magic touches and shapes our lives and stays with us always. [picture book, ages 3 and up] (Doubleday Books for Young Readers April 2022)
Amah Faraway by Margaret Chiu Granias, illustrated by Tracy Subisak
Kylie is nervous to visit her Amah (grandmother) in Taipei, Taiwan is so far away and when Kylie arrives everything seems unfamiliar. Amah encourages Kylie to ‘come see’ and play though, and soon Kylie’s nervousness fades away and the special relationship between grandma and grandchild deepens. A heartwarming intergenerational story that highlights the special bond between grandma and grandchildren and the love that connects them no matter how far apart. [picture book, ages 3 and up] (Bloomsbury January 2022)
Tomatoes for Neela by Padma Lakshmi, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
Neela loves cooking her family recipes with her amma (mom), it makes her feel close to her paati (grandma) who lives far away in India. Each stunningly illustrated page is filled with images of food, culture, and family that left me eager to head to the kitchen with my own children and pull out my grandma’s recipes. [picture book, ages 3 and up] (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2021)
One, Two, Grandma Loves You by Shelly Becker, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
A young girl counts her way into her grandma’s arms and begins again throughout a day of their favorite activities. An upbeat, rhyming read-aloud that is perfect for young readers heading to visit a beloved grandma who lives faraway. [picture book, ages 3 and up] (Henry N. Abrams, 2021)
Grandma’s Girl by Susanna Leonard Hill, illustrated by Laura Bobbiesi
Grandma’s Girl illustrates the countless similarities between grandma and grandchild and the unique bond that they have. This charming rhyming read-aloud is filled with warmth and is sure to inspire storytelling and memory sharing from both grandma and grandchild. [picture book, ages 4 and up] (Sourcebooks 2020)
Grandma Loves You! by Helen Foster James, illustrated by Petra Brown
Aimed at the younger end of the picture book audience, a grandma bunny expresses her love to her new baby bunny. A sweet rhyming read-aloud that wonderfully captures the strength of the grandma-grandchild bond right from the beginning. [picture book, ages 0 and up] (Sleeping Bear Press 2017)
Sadie’s Shabbat Stories by Melissa Stoller, illustrated by Lisa Goldberg
A young girl loves to listen to her Nana’s tales about each family heirloom as she helps set the table for Shabbat. This touching story comes full circle as Sadie eventually learns to tell Shabbat stories of her own. I particularly appreciated that Sadie’s Shabbat story subtly reminds readers of the importance and power of sharing family history and sparked a lovely trip down memory lane with my own children. [picture book, ages 5 and up] (Spork 2020)
When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree by Jamie L.B. Deenihan, illustrated by Lorraine Rocha
A young girl is less than thrilled when she receives a lemon tree as a gift from her grandma for her birthday. She had been hoping for a long list of things and a lemon tree definitely wasn’t one of them. Over the course of the book though the girl comes to find that perhaps grandma gave her the perfect gift after all. This hilarious book subtly explores the virtues of hard work, celebrating community, and putting down your gadgets. [picture book, ages 3 and up] (Sterling March 2019)
Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
A young girl adores her grandma and loves exploring her grandma’s purse whenever she comes to visit. A sweet ode to grandmas and the simple magic they bring with them everywhere. This book brought back fond memories of digging for sweets in the bottom of my own grandma’s purse whenever she came to visit. [picture book, ages 3 and up] (Knopf Books for Young Readers 2018)
A Grandma’s Magic picture book GIVEAWAY!
We are giving away her picture book A Grandma’s Magic. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below. We can only mail to U.S. and A.F.O. addresses.
Charlotte Offsay was born in England, grew up in Boston, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two small children. Through her work, Charlotte hopes to make children laugh, to inspire curiosity, and to create a magical world her readers can lose themselves in time and time again.
Charlotte is the author of The Big Beach Cleanup, illustrated by Kate Rewse (Albert Whitman, 2021), How to Return a Monster, illustrated by Rea Zhai (Beaming Books, 2021), and A Grandma’s Magic, illustrated by Asa Gilland (Doubleday Books for Young Readers, April 2022).
Learn more about Charlotte’s work at charlotteoffsay.com and follow her on Twitter at @COffsay and on Instagram at @picturebookrecommendations.
p.s. Related posts:
Grandparents’ Day and The Many Meanings of Meilan
New Transportation Books for Fans of Richard Scarry
Picture Books about What Makes A House A Home
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My books:
BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
no fav
Ooh I hadn’t seen the lemon tree story before and now I’ve gotta read it! My mom always gives my 2.5 year old niece lemons for her water, because she wants to be like her Grandma.
Amah Faraway is a recent favorite of mine.
Another delightful picture book is, Grandmother School, by Rina Singh (Author), Ellen Rooney (Illustrator). Based on a true story from the village of Phangane, India, this brilliantly illustrated book tells the story of the grandmothers who got to go to school for the first time in their lives.
Nana in the city by Lauren Castillo & Grandma’s Bag of stories by Sudha Murthy!!
How to Babysit a Grandma!
I look forward to reading this as I look forward to becoming a grandmother soon.
Last Stop on Market Street is one of my favorites.
What a wonderful list! I’m excited for Charlotte’s new book! Thanks for the chance.