My Grandma's Photos

Review\n“A gentle book about remembering, as well as grieving, a life well lived.” ―Kirkus Reviews\n“This depiction of a tender, loving relationship is touched with magic, and Ali’s participation in his grandmother’s experiences brings them both much joy.” ―Booklist\n“[A] beautiful, heartfelt story about loss and love…The scenes capture the equally aching and bittersweet emotions of remembering the past and holding onto love, even as one says goodbye…This story will touch readers who know bittersweet experiences with loss and love, and will be at home in every collection.” ―School Library Journal\n“My Grandma’s Photos…is a truly endearing picture book for children ages 5-8 with its message of intergenerational family love.” ―Midwest Book Review\nAli’s grandma can’t hear or see very well these days, and she doesn’t remember very much anymore. But Ali likes hanging out with her. So when Ali’s mom takes out a wooden trunk full of Grandma’s old photos, he sits with his grandmother, trying to figure out who is in all the old pictures. At first, his grandma doesn’t seem to remember. But with a little help from Ali, she is soon sailing through the photos―and taking Ali along with her through the wondrous journey of her life.
With daring, joy, and love, Ali’s grandma shows him the importance of making and sharing beautiful memories that will live on in the ones we love. First published in Turkey, this endearing picture book is a joyous celebration of life, family, and love.\nFrom School Library Journal\nK-Gr 4-Sunar's beautiful, heartfelt story about loss and love presents a young boy listening to his elderly grandmother as she walks through her memories, remembering life again through her photographs. The boy follows his grandmother's life story, from her time as an adventurous girl, to when she started out to pursue her dreams, to when she married the love of her life, the boy's grandfather. With seamless connections, Urgan's pastel pencil illustrations and collage upon white pages instill the story with a reminiscent feel, as if sketches of memories can slowly fill with color and detail. Quiet touches of a life lived, with such items as photographs, lace, buttons, and paper textures, feed into the illustrated renderings, as if to show how real the grandmother's story was and how tangible the memories seem to be. With careful element positioning and black-and-white sketch-like figures surrounded by illuminations of color and nature symbolism, the scenes capture the equally aching and bittersweet emotions of remembering the past and holding onto love, even as one says goodbye. While readers of a young age may relate to the sad event of losing one's grandparent, the connections and comfort provided through the artistry may be best understood by older elementary readers and shared within a family who may be inspired to seek out their family pictures. VERDICT With a wide range of uses, for classroom memory projects or for comforting an individual child, this story will touch readers who know bittersweet experiences with loss and love, and will be at home in every collection.-Rachel Mulligan, Westampton, NJα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.