A DAY AT GRANDMA'S

After an overnight at Grandma’s house, little Yujin looks forward to seeing her mother at the end of the day.

To a young child, waiting a whole day seems impossibly long. Understanding this, Lee and Choi illustrate in words and pictures the concepts of dawn, morning, noon, afternoon, dusk, and night. Morning time is described by rubbing sleepy eyes and hearing the birds sing. Shadows grow longer in the afternoon, and it is time for a nap. The evening drive home is long and filled with traffic. The bond between the Asian mother and child is central to the story, a Korean import, with alternating scenes of the two missing each other throughout the day. Yujin’s day is very busy, illustrated by Choi in sunlit watercolors. Although she knows her daughter is having fun, the mother still expresses her yearning at every moment. “Yujin,…even though you have been gone just one day, I miss you so much. Hurry home to me!” That change of perspective from child to mother, along with the emphasis on being apart, adds a layer of complexity that may get in the way of teaching the time concepts. Multiple pages at the book’s end provide adults with ideas for engaging children in discussing time.

Part storybook, part parental resource; the lack of a clear purpose hurts this title.