ONE, TWO, GRANDMA LOVES YOU

Anticipation makes Grandma’s visits with her grandchild extra special.

Although they’re depicted embracing on the cover, for the first two spreads, Grandma (who appears White, with brown hair pulled into a bun) and her grandchild (who appears to be a kid of color, with brown skin and curly black hair) are seen in their separate homes. Yaccarino’s bold, flat art style has a modern flair even as the accompanying text evokes the familiar nursery rhyme to share anticipation of a visit. The third spread reads, “Nine, ten together again!” and the cover art is replicated on the recto while the facing page introduces the child’s parents, a Black man and White woman, who are dropping the child off with Grandma. Ensuing pages share how the pair joyfully fill their days together, until—“three, four blocking door,” the visitor tries to prevent mom and dad from coming in to retrieve their offspring. Instead of ending the story there, Becker and Yaccarino show how Grandma and grandchild keep in touch while apart, and then a culminating scene shows them reuniting for another visit—only this time Grandma packs her bag to make the trip to her grandchild’s house. Especially given the separation many grandparents and grandchildren have endured throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, this title is likely to strike a chord with readers.

There’s lots to love here indeed.