Everything is Different at Nonna's House
PreSchool-Grade 3-An intergenerational story filled with love and affection. A city boy and his mom visit his grandparents' farm. At Nonna's, "There's always time for blueberry pancakes." Instead of riding the apartment elevator, he rides the tractor with Pop-Pop. Here, there's no deli, only "moo cows." The important moment arrives when he and Nonna go out to see the moon. The sky looks different to him, and when he reaches up, it seems as though he can hold the moon in his hands. He tells his grandmother, "At your house, I'm a big boy," and she explains that it's the same sky and that he's a big boy no matter where he is. With its sunny yellow checkerboard cover and endpapers and its palette of warm hues, this cheerful picture book has just the right illustrations to carry it along. The rounded and elongated figures dance across the pages. Many of the objects are no more than splashes of color, but the slow, homey feel of the country and the bustling mood of the city are clearly delineated. Pair this with Edith Hurd's I Dance in My Red Pajamas (HarperCollins, 1982) or Amy Hest's Weekend Girl (Morrow, 1993; o.p.).Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NYCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.