Celebrate Grandparents’ Day with Picturebooks Perfect to Read with Your Loved Ones

10 Sep
Cover of Lee and Low New Voices Award Winner, A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu with illustrations by Christina Forshay. A drawing features a grandfather and his granddaughter outside exercising.
Cover of Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker and April Harrison. Features a drawing of grandmother and her granddaughter in front of a school.
Cover of Just Like Grandma by Kim Rogers and illustrated by Julie Flett. Features a grandmother and her grandduaghter with two trees and a dragonfly behind them. The book has an Ezra Jack Keats Honor.
Cover of I Miss My Grandpa by Jin Xiaojing. Features a drawing of a girl sitting at a table with a blank sheet of paper in front of her.
Cover of My Grandma and Me by Mina Javaherbin and illustrated by Lindsey Yankey. Features a grandmother and her granddaughter with cat standing in a garden of flowers.
Cover of Drawn Together by Minh Le and Dan Santat. Features a drawing of a grandfather hugging his grandchild.

Sunday, September 13th is Grandparents Day this year! Take a look at these picturebooks from our BCCLS catalog that highlight the special connection between a grandparent and grandchild. 

Drawn Together
by Minh Lê (physical)
A grandfather and grandson struggle to communicate until they discover a shared love of art and adventure that transcends words.

Nana Akua Goes to School
by Tricia Elam Walker (physical)
Zura is worried about how her classmates will react to Nana Akua’s traditional facial scars on Grandparents’ Day. Nana Akua isn’t worried, though. She thinks up a clever way to show Zura’s classmates the beauty in her markings.

Grandma in Blue with Red Hat
by Scott Menchin (physical) 
A child visits an art museum with his class and thinks his grandma would make a fine exhibit. When the curator says that they don’t accept grandmas, he creates an entire gallery just for her. 

My Grandma and Me
by Mina Javaherbin (physical, physical audiobook)
Growing up in Iran, Mina’s grandma is her best friend. They spend all day together, often visiting with Mina’s best friend Annette and her grandmother. Both grandmothers show others how to be compassionate and caring. 

The Grandpa Book
by Todd Parr (physical, Hoopla eBook) 
Grandpas show their love in all different kinds of ways. Todd Parr explores some of them, like how they love making you laugh or add extra marshmallows to your hot chocolate. Check out his accompanying title on grandmas, too. 

Just Like Grandma
by Kim Rogers (physical, physical audiobook)
More than anything, Becca wants to be just like her grandma. They paint together, bead moccasins, and dance at the weekend powwow until Grandpa calls them in for dinner. Little does Becca know that Grandma wants to be just like her. 

I Miss My Grandpa
by Xiaojing Jin (physical, eBook)
Through memories and traits Grandpa passed down to his children and grandchildren, a grandchild learns what he was like, growing to miss him even though they’ve never gotten the chance to meet.

A Morning with Grandpa
by Sylvia Liu (physical)
Mei Mei’s grandpa, Gong Gong, is calm and steady as he does tai chi. Mei Mei, on the other hand, is full of energy! Together, they practice tai chi and yoga and see how much they can learn from one another.

One, Two, Grandpa Loves You
by Shelly Becker (physical) 
A grandpa and granddaughter go on a fun camping trip. One, Two, Grandpa Loves You is a perfect bedtime story for early readers. And if you enjoy this title, we have One, Two, Grandma Loves You and One, Two, Daddy Loves You by the same author.

Written by:
Allison Woodley
Information and Digital Service Assistant

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Cozy Contemporary Fantasies: With All My Haunted Heart and The Vampire Knitting Club

8 Sep
Cover of With All My Haunted Heart by Isabel Sterling Image of two young women kissing at night in front of a Victorian Style House in which all the lights are lit. Quote from Stephanie Burgis, USA Today Bestselling Author of Enchanting the Fae Queen says "A gorgeous queer romance full of both literal and metaphorical ghosts and magic."

With All My Haunted Heart
by Isabel Sterling
Paranormal Sapphic romance fans will be enamored With All My Haunted Heart by Isabel Sterling. Pippa’s magic business has been suffering due to a new competitor opening in town, when she is asked by an owner of a B&B to help haunt her new business in order to have a marketing gimmick to encourage guests to stay there. Usually Pippa only banishes ghosts, rather than make them appear, but her need for cash and her feelings towards Elle have her using her magic in potentially dangerous new ways. I enjoyed the relationship dynamic between the couple, but also how the novel handled issues of friendship and family estrangement. The romance is the focus of the story, but there is also strong world building with a society were only a small portion of the population are witches and many have chosen to only use their powers for healing in order not to upset the larger nonmagical populace, which felt like an analogy for some larger societal issues in our own world. With All My Haunted Heart is categorized as adult fiction, but if you also enjoy YA literature as well, you can check out Sterling’s teen witch series, These Witches Don’t Burn.

The Vampire Knitting Club
by Nancy Warren
The Vampire Knitting Club by Nancy Warren will appeal to both those who enjoy cozy mysteries as well as contemporary paranormal romance fans. Lucy is getting over a breakup with a cheating ex-boyfriend when she travels to Oxford, England to visit her grandmother, who owns a knitting shop. When she arrives she learns that her grandmother has passed away and though she is told it was due to natural causes, Lucy is suspicious. The audiobook narrated by Sarah Zimmerman kept me entertained on my work commute, although I felt the narrator’s tone was a bit snarkier then the character seemed intended by the author. The book is the first in a continuing series with 15 books and a novella length prequel about one of Lucy’s love interest as well as a Christmas novella, and a spinoff series starring one of Lucy’s friends. If you prefer your romances closed door and sweet rather than spicy as well as mysteries and fantasies without gore than this would be a great pick. Warren also has written the The Great Witches Baking Show series for those who enjoy foodie fiction.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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