WHEN I AM OLD WITH YOU

by Angela Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1990

The author and illustrator of Tell Me a Story, Mama (1989) collaborate on another portrait of a warm intergenerational relationship. Here, a little gift imagines what it will be like when she's as old as Grandaddy: they'll still be doing the same things together--fishing, exploring the attic, playing, or chatting in their old rockers. Younger listeners will respond to the affection between the two, even though they'll miss the gentle subtext as the child reassures her grandfather: ""We won't be sad"" when ""we remember when this field was a forest""; ""We can look at the old pictures. . .It might make us cry. . .but that's O.K."" Older children should find the story a good opening for discussion of their concerns about aging. Soman's watercolors are lovely, his people sensitively characterized, his settings deftly suggested with watery strokes. Only the cartoonish style used to depict the incidental animals strikes a discordant note. A pleasant, thoughtful addition to the books about African-Americans, and grand. parents.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1990

ISBN: 0531070352

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Orchard/Watts

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1990

Categories: CHILDREN'S