Welcoming a new baby into the family is an important life event for a grandparent. Seeing the new generation enter the world is a time of celebration and reflection. Author Helen Foster James captures the emotions and experience of becoming a grandparent, more specifically a grandmother, in a beautiful and heart-felt poem to a new grandchild from his or her grandma.
The poem begins at the moment when the grandma bunny meets the new baby; "The moment I saw you. I fell in love. Honey, my bunny, my sweet turtledove". Each page contains a new stanza and an illustration of grandma bunny and the new grandchild sharing loving and memorable moments together.
The story seems to culminate one the stanza: "I tickle your toes and you hold my hand. You are the reason I am called grand".
Petra Brown's whimsical illustrations bolster the poem and complete the emotional phrasing of the book. Her bunnies are expertly personified such that a reader can easily identify with his or her own experience as a grandchild or grandmother. The artworks is soothing and colorful. The illustrations work together, creating a feeling of warmth on the pages.
The book itself is published as a keepsake gift for a new grandchild. There is an inscription page at the front of the book. The end papers of the book consist of a page that contains the phrase: "A Special Letter to My Grandchild" at the top with space for a hand-written letter. The opposite end paper has space for a photograph of grandma and grandchild.
The opportunity for personalizing the book will be sure to stir loving memories of the grandmother-grandchild relationship. This is a beautiful book that is sure to become a treasured possession for many families.
