My Great Grandpa Joe

Gelfand, Marilyn

ISBN 10: 0027368300 ISBN 13: 9780027368307

Publisher: Atheneum, 1986

Synopsis

Spending a memorable Sunday with her great grandfather and her other grandparents, eight-year-old Deborah realizes that with health, the elderly can lead rich and varied lives.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3 Debbie is anxious to spend a special Sunday with her much-loved great-grandfather at his apartment, but she is apprehensive about visiting Grandma Sarah in her nursing home. After the nursing home visit, Debbie and her family enjoy a festive lunch with her healthy vital grandparents. A family photo album allows Debbie to see her grandparents in their younger years and to enjoy the people they've become. The book's format suggests a factual photographic essay, but it is a fictionalized account of a young girl's reaction to aging. As a piece of fiction, it has serious flaws. The dialogue is stilted. Situations are contrived, especially the use of the photo album and the conversation identifying active elders from George Washington to Colonel Sanders. Despite these very obvious faults, the book has some merit. There is an increasing need for books that feature great-grandparents. The view of Grandma Sarah in the nursing home, senile and in declining physical health, is an accurate depiction of a situation that more and more children must face. Hausherr's black-and-white photographs capture the personalities and emotions portrayed, especially Debbie's anxiety about visiting Grandma Sarah. Unfortunately, some of the best photographs are framed and small, diminishing the emotional impact. Although not recommended as fiction, this title should be considered for subject booklists about the elderly. Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, Wis.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0027368300
• ISBN 13: 9780027368307
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 28
• Illustrator: Hausherr Rosmarie