Fierce grannies
There’s a picture book for that
Keep your sappy, sweet, overly sentimental grannies.
I love a grandmother with sass and style.
Sure, sure, some of my favorite picture book grandmothers serve up tradition: In a crisis they hand you a cup of something cozy. They can be counted on to palm you a piece of candy in the middle of a too-long Sunday sermon. Lots of them happen to be excellent cooks with tried-and-true family recipes to pass down. Nearly all dole out amazing hugs — that is one of the best things about grandmothers.
But the picture book elders I really love are equally skilled at doling out a sharp word or side-eye, if that’s what the moment demands.
Meet the fierce matriarchs.
Gram from Ten Beautiful Things by Molly Beth Griffin and Maribel Lechuga
On a long road trip across Iowa, Gram introduces her version of the “I spy” game.
Here’s Gram’s most important rule:
We’re not looking for pretty. We want beautiful.
Mimi from Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
I love Mimi’s counsel on the pick-me-up power of dangly earrings when you want to feel extra fancy. I also admire her ability to pair a brown and yellow batik print skirt with a rainbow-colored patchwork handbag. It takes confidence to carry that off so perfectly.
Grandma from Come a Tide by George Ella Lyon and Stephen Gammell
In the middle of a flood, when all the other adults are standing around unsure what to do next, Grandma says:
If it was me, I’d make friends with a shovel.
Gulp. Maybe grandmothers invented side-eye.
Mother from The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate by Margaret Mahy and Margaret Chamberlain
Mother’s not technically a grandmother. But she’s got grande dame energy, and that’s what this list is truly about.
When adult son, Sam, whines that there’s no money, nor a car, for a trip to the seashore …
“We must make do!” his mother answered sharply.
Everything Mother does, even breakfast, is instruction on living life with gusto. In one scene, she waves a sausage aloft on her fork tines, just before tucking into a mountain of fried eggs, potatoes, peas and bacon.
Nana from Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard and Juana Martinez-Neal
We don’t hear from Nana directly, but on nearly every page, you can just tell she’s the quiet center of the family. It’s evident from the deft way she balances the baby on her hip. And from the way a houseful of rambunctious children get still when Nana gathers them to share their history.
Abuela from Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
She’s a woman who knows the power of affirming identity and the power of the perfect statement necklace.
Omu from Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
Omu is another elder who’s not necessarily a grandmother, but she is the undisputed queen of the neighborhood.
When we first meet Omu she says …
Tonight’s dinner will surely be the best I have ever had.
Omu doesn’t just say her thick red stew will be the best she’s ever cooked. She’s sure it will be the best meal she’s ever HAD! That’s a flex.
Noted, Omu! Be your own hype woman.
Nana from Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson
This one is about a bus ride across town and the small nudges Nana gives her grandson to be a “witness for what’s beautiful.”
And, of course, she’s nudging us all to mind our manners …
Nana gave everyone a great big smile and a “good afternoon.” She made sure CJ did the same.
Lola from When Lola Visits by Michelle Sterling and Aaron Asis
Lola’s story is like lots of picture books centered on grandmothers — all about love, family and food.
But the scene that made me stop and think shows Lola piloting a luggage cart through the airport on her way home to the Philippines. Her granddaughter trails just behind, not quite ready for Lola to leave.
Lola doesn’t actually say it, but I imagine her calling over her shoulder, “Love you, sweetheart, but I gotta go.”
Maybe it’s her garden that needs tending.
A championship pickleball tournament.
Or a keynote speech she has to prepare.
Who’s to know …
Lola reminds me that grandmothers have rich, full lives of their own.
Yes, they live for us, but not only us.
To all the grandmothers ….
M’Dear
Oma
Yaya
Big Mama
MorMor
Happy Mother’s Day!
To celebrate, I’d love to hear what you call your grandmother.
There’s a Picture Book for That is a sometimes series. Each installment is a postcard-size recommendation for a book I think adults could use right about now. Sometimes 32 illustrated pages is exactly what us grown folks didn’t know we need. To delight. Or untangle a tough topic — for little ones or ourselves. (This time I couldn’t pick just one.)
Here’s the nana in my family (wearing the perfect statement necklace, of course).
Both of my grandmothers are gone, but lovingly remembered all the time. Now I am a grandmother, to two dear little boys. They call me Yiayia, a tribute to my late husband‘s Greek heritage, and to hear them call out to me is the sweetest sound in the world!