GRANDPA AND THE KINGFISHER

A grandfather teaches his grandchild about kingfishers, nature, and the cycle of life.

Massini’s lovely watercolor illustrations make the bond between the two plain to see as they row a boat on the river (the child wearing a life preserver), fish, dangle their feet from the dock, and walk along the shore, the grandfather pointing out the kingfishers and explaining what they are doing: fishing, finding a mate, digging a nest hole in the riverbank, laying and incubating the eggs, feeding the chicks. But it’s Wilson’s words that bring the lesson home as she lyrically describes the markers of each season that passes. The child’s questions lead the grandfather to point out that nothing lives forever: “Only nature goes on forever.” And when winter comes and the child asks where the kingfisher parents are, grown-ups will steel themselves for what is to come: The birds have died after passing the torch on to the next generation, and one page turn later, the child sits on the dock alone, Grandpa’s signature hat and binoculars nearby. And while sad, the child is comforted by the natural world that Grandpa so loved. What little remains of Grandpa’s hair is white along with his mustache, while the child’s is short and brown. Both are light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A lovely intergenerational appreciation of nature and life.