Picture Books Stories of Loving Grandparents
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It’s wonderful when grandparents spend loving, quality time with their grandchildren. Such is the case in these picture books… children spending time with a grandparent, often it’s just time together but sometimes it’s sharing memories, adventures, or wisdom.
For Grandparents Day or any day, a free and easy gift idea is to give one of these books to a beloved nana, papa, or abuelo and read the book together with the grandchild.
These books representing many cultures celebrate and honor the relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild.
If you’re separated by distance, ask a grandparent to read aloud one of these picture books on video so you’ll always be able to watch and rewatch their face and hear their voice.
Happy reading!
Books with Stories of Loving Grandparents
Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
The boy doesn’t like the city where Nana lives, it’s loud and scary. Nana gives him a fancy red cape that makes him feel very brave. And he and Nana walk through the city, discovering all that is wonderful about it. I loved how the cape helped the boy be brave. Wonderful!
Tiny, Perfect Things by M.H. Clark, illustrated by Madeline Kloepper
Celebrate the wonder of ordinary, small things as a girl and her grandfather take a walk to notice all the tiny, perfect things; things like a yellow leaf, a snail, a red bottle cap, a flower growing through a sidewalk crack… When they arrive home, the little girl excitedly shares about the wonders she saw. Warm, earthy illustrations throughout.
Drawn Together by Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat
Stunning artwork and narration show how art can bring together generations separated by language and age. When a boy arrives at his grandfather’s house, he’s frustrated because his grandfather doesn’t speak English. Then the boy begins drawing himself as a caped superhero. Excited, his grandfather contributes, drawing himself as a superhero — only one garbed in what may be a traditional Thai ceremonial dress. It’s beautiful on so many levels, metaphorically and literally.
A Grand Day by Jean Reidy, illustrated by Samantha Cotterill
Gorgeous artwork and lyrical words depict a GRAND day of grandkids spending time with their grandparents. It’s a day with tea and toast, paint and plants, dances and dress-up, and so much love! Gift this to the grandparents in your life!
Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker, illustrated by April Harrison
Zura feels nervous about Nana Akua visiting her school for Grandparents Day because Nana has permanent African tribal marks on her face. When the day arrives, Nana Akua explains that she is from Ghana and the marks were a gift from her parents and she feels proud to wear them. She shows the class a quilt filled with other symbols from Ghana and each child gets to pick a symbol to wear on their face with face paint. Zura’s classmates love it and so do the other grandparents. It’s a beautiful moment that transforms Zura’s worry into pride for her family’s heritage. Gorgeous folk-art, expressive illustrations add such beauty to this special story.
The Forgettery by Rachel Ip, illustrated by Laura Hughes
This beautiful, well-crafted story sensitively addresses memory loss with lovely writing and shows Amelia and her granny finding a special place with all their forgotten memories. Granny’s room is large and filled with the things she forgot like the sound of autumn leaves and her favorite blue dress. Amelia’s room is small and cozy and filled with shoes and socks and couches and bumps. Then, they get directions on how to get home, and Amelia starts a book to help Granny remember her favorite memories. But the one thing she’ll never forget is her love for Amelia.
Nana, Nenek & Nina by Liza Ferneyhough
Nina shares about her two grandmothers in a parallel story showing the similarities and differences in cultures and parts of the world. Nana lives in England, and Nenek lives in Malaysia. In each place, Nina wears different closes and eats different foods, but in both places, there’s love and hugs and bedtime. Atmospheric, lovely illustrations.
Kiyoshi’s Walk by Mark Karlins, illustrated by Nicole Wong
Walk with Kiyoshi and his poet grandfather Eto through the town as his grandfather shows Kiyoshi where poems come from…When Eto stops to write a poem, Kiyoshi realizes that poems come from what you see, what you hear, what you imagine, and what you feel. “They passed by an old house with a tall wall around it. / They peeked through a crack, but could see only a stuffed bear on the ground. // Eto took out his pen and wrote: / His boy moved away. / Lying by the empty house. / A lonely bear waits.” Kiyoshi writes a poem, too. Then they walk home, seeing that in everything there is a poem. I LOVE this book so much!
Abueltia and I Make Flan by Adriana Hernandez Bergstrom
Anita breaks Abeula’s special flan dish–and she feels guilty but doesn’t say anything while she’s helping her grandparents mix and cook and share the stories of their past. Anita finally confesses what happened and her abuela is happy to know the truth and isn’t mad. “A plate is a plate but YOU are irreplaceable.” You’ll love the story’s relatable topic, the mix of both languages, the Cuban culture, and the love that bursts through the relationships.
Song of Frutas by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Sara Palacios
Celebrate Cuban culture and a loving grandparent relationship in this lyrical story about a little girl’s visit with her fruit-selling Abuelo. When the little visits her Abuelo in Cuba, she loves helping him sell frutas, singing the names of each fruit as they walk with his cart. They fill baskets lowered down on ropes. Other vendors sing their own melodies and rhymes about tamales, yerbas, and dulces so Abuelo must sing even louder. As her trip wraps up on New Year’s Eve, the girl eats twelve grapes at midnight, making a wish for each month, especially wishing for more visits and open borders. When she returns home, she feels happy that she can send Abuelo letters “back and forth, verses on paper, all our hopeful poems flying like songbirds who glide and soar through wild sky, each syllable un abrazo, a hug made of words.”
Our Favorite Day by Joowon Oh
There’s a beauty in the predictability and minimal description of Papa’s daily routine. He gets up, drinks tea, waters the plants, and eventually goes into town. He gets his favorite lunch–dumplings. But on Thursday, it’s slightly different. In town, he buys craft supplies and gets two orders of dumplings to go. Then, he spends the afternoon with his granddaughter who is just as happy to see him as he is to see her. I love the joy in this relationship and the exquisite paper-cut illustrations.
When the Snow Falls by Linda Booth Sweeney, illustrated by Jana Christy
Playful poetic language invites readers into a wonderland of multigenerational, multicultural family time in the snow. “Woods hush. Fields glisten. Wren sings. We listen.” The children sled, make snow angels, watch the snowy roads, and return home to a cozy fire next to grandma and grandpa. “Cocoa warms. Mittens puddle. Day dawdles. We cuddle.” Ultimately, this winter book feels like a warm and cozy hug.
I’ll Go and Come Back by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Sara Palacios
Jyot visits her beloved Sita Pati in India. The language difference isn’t a problem; they play games, make art, buy food, and eat meals. Instead of goodbye, Jyoti says, “I’ll go and come back.” Later, Sita Pati visits Jyoti in the U.S. and they play games, make art, buy food, and eat meals. Filled with culture and love, this is a sweet story about a loving grandparent-grandchild relationship that bridges countries and languages.
Holding On by Sophia N. Lee, illustrated by Isabel Roxas
A little girl loves that her Lola cherishes memories and music. And Lola loves music –fills her days and nights. So when Lola sometime forgets things, the little girl plays Lola’s favorite music and remembers for her. They dance and sing. I love the exuberant collage illustrations and beautiful message of family and compassion.
The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang, illustrated by Khoa Ld
Kalia’s Hmong family doesn’t have much money but they do have, her grandma helps her see, is beauty, heritage, and love.
One, Two, Grandma Loves You by Shelly Becker, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
Rhyme and count! This is a wonderful read-aloud story about a little girl visiting her grandma. After she leaves, they keep in touch on the phone.
A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu, illustrated by Christina Forshay
What strikes me immediately about this picture book is the warm-hearted, loving relationship between the grandpa and the granddaughter. Even when the granddaughter does things differently than her grandpa, he is very accepting of her silly ways. And vice-versa. In the end, they both learn from each other during their morning practices of Tai Chi and Yoga. Because in the end, it’s about being together, trying your best, and not being perfect.
Abuelo by Arthur Dorros, illustrated by Raul Colon
A lyrical story of a boy’s memories of his abuelo. The boy’s abuelo teaches him that there are many ways to be strong, fuerte; that it’s good to laugh, es bueno reirse; and to look, mira, at the stars. Even when the boy moves to the big city, his abuelo is always with him in spirit.
Brand-New Bubbe by Sarah Aronson, illustrated by Ariel Landy
Jillian is worried that loving her stepdad’s mom, her new Bubbe, will be a betrayal to her other grandparents. Her mom encourages Jillian to give Bubbe a chance and Jillian soon realizes her heart is big enough for all her three grandmas. She invites them all for a soup dinner and it’s a delicious, heart-expanding time. “Like soup, family was made with love. And there was always room for more.”
Grandpa Across the Ocean by Hyewon Yum
A little boy initially only notices their differences when he visits his grandpa in Korea. He notices their different language and the different smells and foods. But when he makes a mistake, his grandpa kindly gives the boy a peach. That shifts the boy’s attention. Now the boy finds all the things that they have in common — laughter, singing, their appearance, chocolate. When it’s time to leave, the boy can’t wait to visit again.
Goldie’s Guide to Grandchilding by Clint McElroy, illustrated by Eliza Kinka
Seemingly silly but is it really? Kids might crack up at this totally helpful book of advice for grandchildren. It’s a big responsibility but Goldie can help you manage these loyal and loving companions called grandparents. She’ll help you plan for playtime, simple toys (grandparents don’t do complicated or video games), feeding (ice cream), exercise (the Funky Chicken), and bedtime (Rainbow Connection).
Crouching Tiger by Ying Chang Compestine illustrated by Yan Nascimbene
This story captures a common story of feeling embarrassed about being different. When Vinson’s grandpa from China visits, Vinson is embarrassed. However, Vinson learns grandpa is a martial arts master and starts to see him as someone to be proud of. The elements of Chinese culture like tai chi and clothing give readers some important cultural insight.
Supernana by Eva Bryne
Grandma is a superhero — a perfect fighter of evil and rescuer of innocents…who is also a good bedtime storyteller! And, “Whatever the problem, Supernana knows ice cream is always a good solution!” But what will she do to stop Madam Le Flea and her Shrinkalizer. It takes all of her powers but she fights and saves the city! Hooray for Supernana.
French Toast by Kari-Lynn Winters Illustrated by Francois Thisdale
My Grandma and Me by Mina Javaherbin, illustrated by Lindsey Yankey
Mina writes a beautiful, atmospheric tribute to her grandma in this story of growing up in Iran buying bread, playing, and going to prayers but mostly spending loving time with her grandma. The illustrations with intricate patterns and muted colors set a warm, comforting tone.
Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Kenard Pak
Lina walks through the snow to her Grandma’s house. As she walks, she notices the sounds of snow. Her boots on the ground sound like “snyak, snyek, snyuk.” People sweeping snow off their cars make a “swish-wish, swish-wish.” She hears the snow with things like mittens, skis, snowballs, shovels, too. When she arrives at her Grandma’s they cook together, eat, and listen to the stillness of the snow. This story’s lovely illustrations combined with the sensory images in the text give readers an immersive experience of this snowy day.
The Ocean Calls by Tina Cho, illustrated by Jess X. Snow
Dayeon wants to be a haenyeo, a Korean treasure-hunting mermaid, like her Grandma but she’s scared. Her Grandma helps her practice diving and holding her breath in a tide pool then in the big ocean, tethered together. The perspective of the illustrations helps us feel like we’re under the water, too — and we feel breathless and wonder-filled at the beauty of the ocean.
We Became Jaguars by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Woodrow White
A very imaginative and unique grandma encourages her grandson to pretend that they are jaguars. They practice moving like jaguars then venture outside into the night and the woods where they prowl and hunt, jaguaring on. The boy worries he’s missing too much school so his jaguar grandma writes him a note– her pawprint, leaving readers to wonder if she’s really a jaguar and not just pretending.
I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne, illustrated by Julia Kuo
A little girl remembers times with her beloved Popo…visiting the park, celebrating New Year’s Day, and looking at the globe to see where they are in Taiwan and where the girl will be moving, San Diego. She moves to the U.S. and thinks of Popo during her days, talks to her on video calls, and returns for a short visit. Even when Popo is gone from this world, she visits the little girl in her dreams and their love endures.
