Grandpa Green: Amazon.ca: Lane Smith: Books

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CDN $10.99

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CDN $7.60

Hardcover, Aug 30 2011

CDN $13.71

Book Description

Release Date: Aug 30 2011

From the creator of the national bestseller It's a Book comes a timeless story of family history, legacy, and love.

Grandpa Green wasn't always a gardener. He was a farmboy and a kid with chickenpox and a soldier and, most of all, 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 and imagination recreates things forgotten.

In his most enigmatic and beautiful work to date, Lane Smith explores aging, memory, and the bonds of family history and love; by turns touching and whimsical, it's a stunning picture book that parents and grandparents will be sharing with children for years to come.

Grandpa Green is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Picture Books title for 2011.

One of School Library Journal’s Best Picture Books of 2011.

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From the creator of the national bestseller It's a Book comes a timeless story of family history, legacy, and love.

Grandpa Green is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Picture Books title for 2011.

One of School Library Journal’s Best Picture Books of 2011.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press (Aug 30 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1596436077
ISBN-13: 978-1596436077
Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 28.7 x 1 cm
Shipping Weight: 431 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #25,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #32 in Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Multigenerational
- #63 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Fiction

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Product Description

Review

“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

About the Author

Lane Smith has written and illustrated a bunch of stuff, including It’s a Book; John, Paul, George & Ben and Madam President. His titles with Jon Scieszka have included the Caldecott Honor-winner The Stinky Cheese Man; The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs; Math Curse; and Science Verse. Lane's other high profile titles include Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr. Seuss and Jack Prelutsky; The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders; Big Plans by Bob Shea; and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. In 1996 Lane served as Conceptual Designer on the Disney film version of James and the Giant Peach. Lane also wrote and illustrated the retro, cult favorites, The Happy Hocky Family and The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country. Like the Hocky family, he and book designer Molly Leach live in a little town in the country.

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Amazon.com: 4.3 out of 5 stars 50 reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A layered tale of loves lost and found and lost again but forever remembered Aug 3 2011

By Jason Kirkfield - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review

Lane Smith wrote and illustrated this cycle-of-life story. (His wife, Molly Leach, did the book design.) The book's own ten-word summary says it all: "A child explores the ordinary life of his extraordinary great-grandfather." If you allow me to indulge, I will gladly add my own slightly-longer-than-ten-word review.

Grandpa Green is not your run-of-the-mill picture book. It is a layered tale of loves lost and found and lost again but forever remembered. Like the collaborative City Dog, Country Frog, this book would be particularly appropriate for children who have lost a loved one, in this case a grandparent instead of a pet. But Grandpa Green trumps that Mo Willems/John J Muth effort, because it is imbued with a lifetime's worth of remembrances, supported by memory-anchored illustrations. As the boy recounts his great-grandfather's ultimately not so ordinary life, he progressively collects gardening tools that Grandpa Green has forgetfully left scattered throughout the garden. Enjoyably for the reader, most of these inventory items whimsically enhance the memories captured in the beautifully drawn (grown?) foliage. Some of Lane's artwork here is best appreciated on subsequent readings; I think I will let my kids find all the wonderful little details on their own.

The final page (in fact, the only page following the four-page fold-out dénouement) sees the boy creating a topiary on his own, this of his great-grandfather. Thus the cycle continues: the old man's love for horticulture--and the boy's love for the old man--both assured.

Jason Kirkfield, Vine Review, August 3, 2011

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars sublime Jan 23 2012

By K. Francois - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Hardcover

The first time I read this to my rambunctious 5.5yo son I finished it and thought "huh, beautiful, but I don't feel like I got much out of it, how are children supposed to get this?" But as I went to set it to the side my son stopped me, he'd noticed something in the book and wanted to go through and read it again. Sure enough, another layer emerged at the second reading, and the third reading that night.

This has become one of our bedtime favorites. It's a book that gets us to slow down and talk about what we're reading (a slowness that pairs well with the topiary images I think). I'm thankful that the text is brief because it allows us to read it multiple times in an evening and fill in the spaces with our world observations. (and it really is beautifully illustrated.)

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful illustrations, story is lacking Nov 17 2011

By V. Linnean - Published on Amazon.com

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review

Yes, this is a children's picture book with beautiful illustrations. It tells Granpa Green's story in topiaries throughout the book. It's very clever and something I've never seen before. However, it is a children's picture book, and the target audience is preschool children. My 4 1/2 year old son got rather bored with the book because there really is not much in the way of captivating text. My 20 month old daughter liked the pictures, but there are other books she goes to long before she'll pick this one up.

I think this is a sweet, old fashioned book that appeals more to parents than to young children. I also have a bit of an issue with the book talking about Grandpa going to war, and showing a topiary cannon. My son asked what that was, and at 4 1/2 I don't feel comfortable discussing war with him yet. Perhaps if he were 6 or 7, but this book doesn't have the story line to captivate children of that age.

Bottom Line: This is a beautiful coffee table book, but not something young children will love.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 50 reviews 4.3 out of 5 stars

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Grandpa Green [Hardcover]