WHAT CAN YOUR GRANDMA DO?

A grandparent talent show at school has Jeremy wondering if his grandma has a unique skill to display.

Stella’s grandmother is a doctor; Theo’s abuelo is an artist; Celeste’s ye-ye is a baker. It seems everyone’s grandparent can do something special, like salsa dancing, hula hooping, ballet dancing, or creating balloon animals. Jeremy remembers how his grandma iced his twisted ankle, unevenly painted the living room wall, and almost burned her building down when they went to play basketball and she left the oven on. These activities did not make her a doctor, an artist, or a chef. Later at home, Jeremy and his grandma explore other possibilities—juggling? Magic tricks?—without much success. Feeling low but still undeterred, Jeremy suggests they go outside to play some basketball, and sure enough, Grandma’s got game. “She ran fast. Then she dribbled the ball, took two giant steps, leaped into the air, raised the ball towards the rim, and…Whoosh! Right through the net.” At the talent show, Jeremy is proud of his grandma’s special talent and declares, “Oh yeah, that’s right…my grandma can dunk!” This Belgian import features comical cartoon drawings on alternating white and pale-colored backgrounds of a white boy and his gray-haired and rotund yet agile grandmother impressing a multiethnic class of Asian, black, and Latino children with grandparents who represent today’s educated, active, lively baby-boomer generation.

Right on! (Picture book. 4-6)