GRANDPA GREEN - Lane Smith

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Smith, Lane. 2011. Grandpa Green. New York: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9781596436077

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In Grandpa Green, a young boy takes the reader on a tour of his great-grandfather’s garden. The topiaries represent memorable moments in his life, from his childhood, to going to war, to the generations of his family. The boy explains that while there are things his great-grandfather has trouble remembering, the topiaries keep those memories alive. Tending the garden is an activity the great-grandfather and the great-grandson share, helping to pass the stories of his life to a new generation and teaching the boy how to contribute his own topiaries to the collection.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The narrator of Grandpa Green is the great-grandson. He does not have a name or age given in the text. He is old enough to tell the story with words like horticulture, but still has an innocence in how he presents his great-grandfather’s life. He has heard the stories, but may not understand them fully yet. He is completely accepting of his great-grandfather and his forgetfulness, always willing to help out. The great-grandfather could be anyone who fought in a World War, from any country. The setting is the garden, which is spacious enough to hold a lifetime. The story takes place in one day, though it is clear from the boy knowing his grandfather’s routine that they spend this time together regularly.

Lane Smith conveys much of the story content through the topiaries themselves. The text is minimalist, and serves more to point the reader to what to look for in the topiaries. The vibrant greens of the topiaries which Lane has painted contrast against the white background and ink details. Visual jokes include a crying baby, rabbits on a carrot-shaped topiary, and red berries representing chicken pox. Older readers will more easily grasp allusions to books, movies, and history. In a moment of irony, the topiary on the page where the boy talks about his great-grandfather forgetting things is an elephant.

Grandpa Green opens the door to exploring relationships with grandparents or great-grandparents. In addition, a loved one who is losing his or her memories is a situation that children may encounter. This book presents an older person’s forgetfulness as a part of who they are, but not one that has to get in the way of the relationship. It gives dignity to older individuals and meaning to intergenerational relationships.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) AND AWARDS
The New York Times Best Illustrated Books, 2011

Publisher’s Weekly Top 40 Children’s Books, 2011

ALA Notable Children's Books - Younger Readers Category, 2012

School Library Monthly: “The illustrations are the star of the story, and readers will notice additional subtleties each time they revisit the book.”

Publishers Weekly: “…Lane's young narrator serves as a poignant reminder that the things we create--stories, memories, art (in whatever form it might take)--endure long after we do.”

Horn Book Magazine: “…a thoughtful, eloquent, and elegantly illustrated book to explore, consider, and read again.”

5. CONNECTIONS

- Explore other books focusing on memory loss, including

Langston, Laura, and Gardiner, Lindsey. Remember, Grandma? ISBN 067005898X

Bahr, Mary. The Memory Box. ISBN 978-0-8075-5052-6

Fox, Mem. Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. ISBN 0-916291-04-9

- This could be used for Grandparents’ Day, in conjunction with titles like

Carlson, Nancy.  Hooray for Grandparent’s Day. ISBN 0-670-88876-1

Byrne, Gayle. Sometimes It’s Grandmas and Grandpas, and not Mommies and Daddies. ISBN 0-7892-1028-2

- Children could write letters to grandparents, grandparent-figures, or a local assisted living center.

- Children could interview older family members to learn about a meaningful event in their lives and draw a topiary to symbolize what happened. These drawings could be labeled with a one or two sentence description, similar to what is in Grandpa Green.