Author: Uma Krishnaswami
Illustrator: Layne Johnson
Publisher and year: Boyds Mills Press, 2007
Number of pages: 32 pages
Genre: Picture Book
Remembering Grandpa is a beautiful story of death and remembrance. It teaches children that we don’t have to be in utter grief when someone we love passes away. We can find a better way to remember that someone and keep going with our lives.
In trying to ease her grandmother’s sadness a year after grandpa’s death, little bunny Daysha set out to collect happy memories of her grandpa. Daysha revisited places she shared with grandpa and gathered things that hold those memories. When she showed her grandmother the things she gathered, grandma cried and they embraced each other. In the end, grandma took Daysha out for ice cream like grandpa used to. They sat under the moon and found the right kind of remembering.
The illustrations contain warm colors at the beginning which implies the story theme which is not all sadness. Grandma and Daysha were sitting in a chair and we can see tears in grandma’s eyes. But then Daysha looked at an old picture of grandpa and herself. She is smiling at the photo and she refused to remember grandpa by being sad. We can see warm colors at each page. Daysha found a button that once fell of grandpa’s old coat. Daysha climbed the hill where she and grandpa used to visit and gathered flowers and rocks. She picked up a long sharp leaf blade because grandpa told her this leave can be used to make needles, paintbrushes, and soap. Daysha also found a tiny chip of rock, a fine-scented branch with fat berries, a newly cast-off snakeskin, wild bright flowers, and black-and-white feathers from a bird that are all somehow connected to grandpa. She set all of them in her little wagon along with grandpa’s old guitar.
When grandma saw these special things Daysha had gathered, she hugged Daysha tightly. On this page, we see them hugging while grandma once again had tears in her eyes. Then they played the guitar together with flowers and butterflies surrounding them. They look very happy. Then we see the sunset faraway while grandma and Daysha walk toward the sun. One of the clouds here looks like a rabbit which might even be grandpa who is watching them.
On the last page, Daysha and grandma is looking at the moon with various shades of blue around them. They are looking up with what seems like hope and happiness in their eyes.
