Zero Grandparents: A Jackson Friends Book - Hardcover

MICHELLE EDWARDS is the author-illustrator of Chicken Man, winner of the National Jewish Book Award, and several other award-winning titles. She lives with her family in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Gr. 2-4. Calliope hopes the announcement her second-grade teacher is going to make is about a field trip. Instead, it concerns the school's upcoming Grandparents Day, when children bring their grandparents to school and introduce them to the class. Calliope, whose grandparents are dead, has no one to bring. Edwards' pen-and-ink art emphasizes Calliope's dejected feelings: snowflakes with frowns float down on the girl, who, in one picture, is shown within a large candy kiss, its tab reading "zero grandmas." It's a photo of her grandma, plainly showing characteristics Calliope inherited from her, that gives rise to a plan. Wrapped in a delicate shawl her grandmother made, Calliope courageously faces her class and tells them about her grandmother, who is right there with her in spirit and memory. Turning her frustration and sadness into triumph, Calliope sets a worthy example for young readers. Color art would have brightened the pages, but the manageable chapter-book text and real-life emotions make this a winning entry in the Jackson Friends Book series. Ellen Mandel
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