Introducing Betty's Books - Grandparents.com

Do I need to tell you how important it is that your grandchildren are surrounded by books? From a very early age, they need to be read to, encouraged to read and see you reading books. So to give you a helping hand in selecting books — ones you can feel pretty confident that their parents haven't purchased as of yet — I am going to review a new children's book every month, one that I think you will enjoy reading with your grandkids. The one I selected this month comes from a recommendation of mcleanandeakin.com, an online book seller specializing in children's books.

I am also going to take a page from my own childhood, or that of my children's, and review a "classic" every month, a book that has stood the test of time and that no grandchild should be without. And while you are reading these timeless classics with your grandkids, be sure to tell them how you use to read them to their mom or dad. If your grandchildren are like mine, they love hearing stories about their parents.

Recently Published: Me and the Pumpkin Queen, by Marlane Kennedy (Greenwillow Books, 2007)

There is so much in this wonderful little "chapter" book, that I can almost promise that anyone who picks it up to read with their grandchildren will not be disappointed.

Don't be put off by the title — Me and the Pumpkin Queen. Marlane Kennedy has written a delicious book (no pun intended) for kids aged 7-10.

Eleven-year-old Mildred is making that painful transition from little girl, tomboy style, to young lady (buying her first bra). Like so many girls or boys that age, she has difficulty connecting with other kids in her class — what 8, 9 or 10-year-old can't identify with that?

But Mildred's normal growing pains are exacerbated by the loss of her mother. She was only six when her mother died, but even at that tender young age, she decided it was important to do something that her mother always wanted to do but never got around to — growing the largest and most perfect pumpkin around to win first prize at her hometown's annual Pumpkin Festival. Mildred's motive is fairly obvious which makes it so touching; in the words of her busybody aunt, "by tending to her pumpkins Mildred was tending to her grief."

Yet every year she tries — she now is in her fifth year of pumpkin growing — and every year something goes wrong. Though discouraged, Mildred doesn't give up. She knuckles down, learns new methods to improve her chances, and tries again. Even though, in her words, "it's like taking care of a whole passel of babies."

The story is told in first person by Mildred in clean, clear language. And though it is a story about a young girl, the other two main characters are male — her best friend Jacob, a neighbor who is somewhat of a loner himself, and her dad. This is one of the things that I like so much about the book. Mothers usually take center stage in stories about young girls, the fathers lurking behind the scenes. But in this book the dad is front and center, helping his only child work through her grief.

And, nice for us grandparents, Mildred's father's parents play a role. On one visit, Mildred is musing about "how much I like having my grandparents around. I'm old enough that we can have real conversations now. I mean, we talked when I was younger, but it somehow seems different now."

The story flows seamlessly (though there were times I wish I could be spared some of the minutia of pumpkin-growing) and reads like an intimate conversation between family and friends. It's a book you will love sharing and reading with your grandchildren.

Classic Book: Where The Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak (Harper Collins; 25th Anniversary Edition, 2003)

When I would read this brilliant, short book to my kids, the youngest couldn't wait for the line "they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws." He would immediately let out a yelp, growl as loud and low as he could, roll his eyes and show his older siblings his "terrible claws." Who could imagine so much genuine joy, over and over and over again, in imitating those wild things?

If it's been a while since you last picked it up, here's a brief reminder of the plot. Max, sent to bed without dinner for mischief-making is magically transported in his mind to the place where the wild things live. Despite being acclaimed King of all wild things, he trades it in to return to where he had something better — home, where he was loved, not matter what. And where "he found his supper waiting for him... and it was still hot."

There are so many memorable things tucked into this small, slim book of 330 words. My favorite pages are the three spreads with no words at all; just the most marvelous illustrations of slightly scary but really cuddly, lovable monsters. But how they could spark the imaginations of my children!

My copy — over 40 years old — is in pretty good shape. That's because we took it to a reading by Maurice Sendak himself and he signed our copy. It became a pretty revered item at that point, never to be fought over or perused while eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I've tried to hand it over to one of my kids but they prefer it stay at home, to be read again and again when their children visit. And so they can watch their kids "roar their terrible roars and gnash their terrible teeth and roll their terrible eyes and show their terrible claws."