WHERE'S GRAMMA?

After searching for their grandmother, four boys find her in some wild (and some domestic) locations in this rhyming picture book.

Opening with the repeating title phrase, this picture book upends expectations from the start, when Gramma is found in a tree. Grandsons Jimmy, CJ, Jack, and Garrett discover their grandmother in all sorts of unexpected locations. She digs a trench with a backhoe and pours concrete to build a bench. She shows the boys wildlife, collects bugs, and dives to the bottom of a pool with crabs and turtles (creative license is used liberally here). She takes care of her ranch, minding the chickens and cows, before announcing, “I’d say we need cookies right about now.” Along with baking, she also reads and knits, revealing that she also enjoys more traditional grandmotherly activities—without ever undermining that this Gramma performs jackknifes and cannonballs into the pool. Veteran picture-book author Gardella’s scansion and rhymes are clean and clever, with accessible vocabulary and minimal words per page, making this a good choice for emergent readers. David’s cartoon illustrations capture Gramma’s big personality. The huge round eyes and freckled faces of the grandsons make this white-presenting family look convincingly related, though they don’t exhibit unique personalities. A final illustration shows the farmhouse, which helps situate the space where so many adventures have unfolded—on a ranch any grandkid would be happy to visit.

An entertaining rhyming book about an audacious grandmother.