Saying Good-Bye to Grandma

Marcia Sewall, the author and illustrator of many award-winning picture books, is a lifelong resident of New England.

Jane Resh Thomas has written more than a dozen fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, including the highly praised BEHIND THE MASK for Clarion. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Kindergarten-Grade 3 In this exceptionally sensible and sensitive examination of a young girl's feelings about the death and funeral of her grandmother, Suzie's experiences are both typical and individualized. Suzie and her parents gather with the relatives, where the children swim and play as usual and are surprised that the grownups can't seem to eat their meals and that Grandpa cries during the night. Suzie is afraid that the funeral is what will make her grandmother truly dead and gone forever. Her apprehensions are soothed with gentle understanding by her parents, however, and she is able to participate in all of the necessary rituals of saying goodbye. Treasured memories of the dead person are shared; grief is freely expressed; and plans are made for the future: Suzie will visit Grandpa next summer and learn to cook and fish. The first-person narrative is exactly as it should be: natural, simple, and understanding. The child's need to run and play is perfectly blended with her intense moments of sorrow and bewilderment. The tone is matter-of-fact and reassuring. Life is changed, but it goes on. The warm-hued pastel illustrations have touches of humor and plenty of lively activity to help ameliorate the somberness of the occasion, but they are always appropriate. The figures, done in quick, simple strokes, are full of expressive personality. A true picture, both happy and sad, of the experience. Patricia Pearl, First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, Va.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.