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Reading and discussing a variety
of children's picture books to introduce and explore different intergenerational themes is a great way to lead into personal storytelling and memoir writing.
Start by reading and discussing A Little Something, and then open the discussion to bring in other books.
The theme lists below are a recommended sampling of books. There's a special list of grandfather books because there are fewer of them than grandmother books. The grandmother books listed are ones in which the portrayal is particularly poignant, spirited, or nontraditional. The generations list has books that show the important and special connections across several generations (usually grandparent, parent, child). There are very few books that deal with extremely old people, so there's a list of those. The list about understanding differences involves differences in age, religion, culture. The life lessons learned are often by the young, but also sometimes by the old. Finally, there are books that remind us of the little things and the big things that are most important.
Grandfathers
Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman
The Magpie Song by Laurence Anholt
The Grandpa Days by Joan Blos
Dear Annie by Judith Caseley
Granddaddy's Street Songs by Monalisa Degross
Grandaddy's Place by Helen V. Griffith
Grandfather's Lovesong by Reeve Lindbergh
Gus and Grandpa series by Claudia Mills
The Jukebox Man by Jacqueline K. Ogburn
Lucky Pennies and Hot Chocolate by Carol Diggory Shields
Grandpa Was a Cowboy by Silky Sullivan
Grandmothers
Gifts by Jo Ellen Bogart
My Grandmother's Journey by John Cech
The Disappearing Island by Corinne Demas
Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola
Abuela by Arthur Dorros
Grandma Gets Grumpy by Anna Grossnickle Hines
Emma by Wendy Kesselman
Annie and the Old One by Miska Miles
My Grandma's The Mayor by Marjorie White Pellegrino
Grandmother's Alphabet by Eve Shaw
It's Not My Turn To Look for Grandma! by
April Halprin Wayland
Our Granny by Margaret Wild
How to Take Your Grandmother to the Museum by
Lois Wyse and Molly Rose Goldman
Generations
Dancin' in the Kitchen by Frank P. Christian and
Wendy
Gelsanliter
Bigmama's by Donald Crews
Big Wind Coming! by Karen English
Just Right Stew by Karen English
The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flournoy
The Purple Coat by Amy Hest
Two Mrs. Gibsons by Toyomi Igus
Deep Thinker And The Stars by Patricia Murdoch
Fireflies for Nathan by Shulamith Levey Oppenheim
The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco
Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan
A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
The Oldest-Old
The Chicken Salad Club by Marsha Diane Arnold
Great-Grandmother's Treasure by Ruth Hickcox
Down the Winding Road by Angela Johnson
Maebelle's Suitcase by Tricia Tusa
Understanding Differences
Halmoni's Day by Edna Coe Bercaw
I Have an Olive Tree by Eve Bunting
Luka's Quilt by Georgia Guback
Bubbe & Gram by Joan C. Hawxhurst
Fishing Sunday by Tony Johnston
The Stars in My Geddoh's Sky by Claire Sidhom Matze
Grandpa's Amazing Computer by Ursel Scheffler
Mimi's Tutu by Tynia Thomassie
Liliana's Grandmothers by Leyla Torres
Life Lessons Learned
Cherry Tree by Ruskin Bond
Mandy by Barbara Booth
The Lucky Stone by Lucille Clifton
How Old is Old? by Ann Combs
Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
The Boy and the Cloth of Dreams by Jenny Koralek
Through Grandpa's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan
Grandmother's Dreamcatcher by Becky Ray McCain
Waiting for the Whales by Sheryl McFarlane
Sitti's Secrets by Naomi Shihab Nye
There's Nothing to Do! by James Stevenson
Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz
Keepers by Jeri Hanel Watts
The Language of Doves by Rosemary Wells
Old Pig by Margaret Wild
What Matters Most
Three Cheers for Catherine the Great! by Cari Best
The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Good As New by Barbara Douglass
Nana's Birthday Party by Amy Hest
Grandpa's Visit by Richardo Keens-Douglas
A Birthday Basket for Tia by Pat Mora
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