Book Description
for Just Like Grandma by Kim Rogers and Julie Flett
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
;On the steps of a house at the end of the street …” A patterned text begins with a series of vignettes in which Becca wants to be “just like Grandma.” She watches Grandma bead, dance, and paint, asking each time if she can join in. “Together they bead … flutter like the most beautiful butterflies … paint …” Each activity ends when Grandpa calls them in to eat: corn soup, fried chicken, pancakes. At the powwow, it’s beans and fry bread after Grandma dances Fancy Shawl and wins the grand prize. A reversal in the story comes with Grandma watching Becca practice basketball. She wants to be “just like Becca,” and together they shoot hoops “until Grandpa calls them in for to:kic and white bread.” When Becca makes the team, the three go out for pepperoni pizza to celebrate. “On the steps of a house at the end of the street Becca knows that she is just like Grandma … And Grandma knows that she is just like Becca.” The emotion is palpable in this lyrical, wonderfully paced picture book. The narrative and muted, warm-hued illustrations work together to convey details of this contemporary Wichita family’s life and love. The author (Wichita and Affiliated Tribes) includes a note about her own grandparents and a glossary; the illustrator (Swampy Cree/Métis) includes information on the importance of beadwork in Native cultures historically and today. Winner, (Ages 4-8)
CCBC Choices 2024. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2024. Used with permission.