Grandpa Green

by Lane Smith (Author) Lane Smith (Illustrator)

Grandpa Green
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
Grandpa Green wasn't always a gardener. He was a farmboy, a kid with chickenpox, a soldier, and an artist. In this captivating new picture book, readers follow Grandpa Green's great-grandson into a garden he created, a fantastic world where memories are handed down in the fanciful shapes of topiary trees.
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Hardcover
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Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

In this reflective tale, Smith (It's a Book) departs from his customary irony to muse on the memories, talents, and traditions passed down through generations. Smith's young narrator, in overalls and rubber boots, describes his great-grandfather. The boy waters plants and tidies up in a magnificent topiary garden, lined in delicate ink and decorated with ornamental hedges in the shapes of people, animals, and iconic objects. "He was born a really long time ago, before computers or cell phones or television," says the boy, and the first topiary depicts a crying baby. Other creations include rabbit- and chicken-shaped shrubs to suggest a childhood farm; a head-shaped bush dotted with red berries ("In fourth grade he got chicken pox"); and an erupting cannon to signify wartime. Smith works in an impressionistic range of emerald, moss, and seaweed hues, memorializing Grandpa Green's life events in meticulously pruned shrubs. The child eventually catches up with an elderly man who "sometimes forgets things. But the important stuff, the garden remembers for him." It's a rare glimpse into Smith's softer side--as skillful as his more sly offerings, but crafted with honesty and heart. Ages 5-9. (Sept.)

Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3—A child relates the story of his great-grandfather's life as it had been told to him in Smith's poignant story (Roaring Brook, 2011) about childhood on a farm, dreams and imagination, and a life filled with loving memories. Growing older sometimes means forgetting, but this tale celebrates the ability to keep memories alive in different ways. Noah Galvin narrates this simple, but poetic account of a man's life and the topiary garden that shares his story. The narration is simple, with little expression. Page-turn signals are optional. Make sure to have the book available since Smith's illustrations are what makes this Caldecott Honor book so successful.—Kelly Roth, Prospect Park School, PA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

A Caldecott Honor Book

"In this affecting picture book, a boy recounts the life of his beloved great-grandfather...The author's illustrations, a blend of line drawings and sponge painting, have a classic feel, and make clever use of the topiary theme, rewarding close examination and repeated reading." —The New Yorker

"Great-grandpa's memory may be going, but the past remains vibrantly alive in the playful topiaries that decorate his brilliantly green yard. Lush and magical." —People

"An unassuming little masterpiece...the book's power lies in its rich, allusive artistry." —New York Times Book Review

"It's a rare glimpse into Smith's softer side—as skillful as his more sly offerings, but crafted with honesty and heart." —Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Visually intriguing and emotionally resonant, this is a book to pore over and talk about. With each subsequent reading, it offers new layers of meaning and visual connections." —School Library Journal Starred Review

"Opening this book is like opening a gate to a secret garden, filled with the treasures of a life well lived. In his portrait of a boy who adores and honors his forgetful great-grandfather, Smith shows us that the things that are meaningful to the ones we love become part of our garden, too." —Shelf Awareness

"Though this book has lots of adult appeal, it will also be a wonderful bridge to exploring family history with the very young." —Kirkus Reviews

"Sketched with a finely lined fairy-tale wispiness and dominated by verdant green, the illustrations are not just creative but poignant." —Booklist

Lane Smith
Lane Smith is the award-winning author of 2012 Caldecott Honor book Grandpa Green, as well as It's a Book, and the middle-grade novel Return to Augie Hobble, among others. In 2012, the Eric Carle Museum named him a Carle Artist for lifelong innovation in the field of children's picture books, and in 2014, he was awarded the lifetime achievement award from the Society of Illustrators. In 2017, he was awared the Kate Greenaway Medal for There is a Tribe of Kids. He lives in an old house in Connecticut with the designer Molly Leach, pondering the goings-on in his own backyard.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781596436077
Lexile Measure
530
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Roaring Brook Press
Publication date
August 30, 2011
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV013030 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Multigenerational
Library of Congress categories
Great-grandfathers
Gardens
Caldecott Medal
Honor Book 2012 - 2012
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens
Recommended 2012 - 2012
Red Clover Award
Nominee 2013 - 2013
Georgia Children's Book Award
Nominee 2014 - 2014

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