Grandparents Day falls on the Sunday after Labor Day each year. It’s the perfect time to celebrate these wonderful people in our students’ lives. Each family, however, comes in different shapes and sizes. These books represent celebrate a variety of cultures and the different roles that grandparents play in our lives. Check out my favorite books about grandparents!
Books About Grandparents
Drawn Together by Minh Le
In Drawn Together, amazing artwork shows how art can bring together generations separated by age and language. When a boy arrives at his grandfather’s house, he is frustrated that they don’t speak the same language. The boy begins to draw and eventually his grandfather joins in. They learn to communicate and connect with each other through their art.
I also shared this book in my Asian American & Pacific Islander Month Books post.
Amah Faraway by Margaret Chiu Greanias
Kylie is nervous about visiting her grandmother-her Amah-who lives SO FAR AWAY. When she and Mama finally go to Taipei, Kylie is shy with Amah. Even though they have spent time together in video chats, those aren’t the same as real life. And in Taiwan, Kylie is at first uncomfortable with the less-familiar language, customs, culture, and food.
Then, Kylie begins to see this place through her grandmother’s eyes and sees a new side of the things that used to scare her. And when it is time to go home, the video chats will be extra special until they can visit faraway again.
Soul Food Sunday by Winsome Bingham
Granny teaches her grandson to cook the family meal in this celebration of food, traditions, and gathering together at the table. At her house, Sunday isn’t Sunday without a big family gathering over a lovingly prepared meal. Old enough now, the young boy is finally invited to help cook the dishes for the first time.
He joins Granny in grating the cheese, cleaning the greens, and priming the meat for Roscoe Ray’s grill. But just when Granny says they’re finished, her grandson makes his own contribution, sweetening this Sunday gathering—and the many more to come. I challenge you not to be hungry after reading Soul Food Sunday!
Brand New Bubbe by Sarah Aronson
Jillian is worried that loving her stepdad’s mom, her new Bubbe, will be a betrayal to her other grandparents. Her mom encourages Jillian to give Bubbe a chance and Jillian soon realizes her heart is big enough for all her three grandmas. She invites them all for a soup dinner and it’s a delicious, heart-expanding time. “Like soup, family was made with love. And there was always room for more.”
I’ll Go and Come Back by Rajani LaRocca
Jyot visits her beloved Sita Pati in India. The language difference isn’t a problem; they play games, make art, buy food, and eat meals. Instead of goodbye, Jyoti says, “I’ll go and come back.” Later, Sita Pati visits Jyoti in the U.S. and they play games, make art, buy food, and eat meals.
Filled with culture and love, I’ll Go and Come Back is a sweet story about a loving grandparent-grandchild relationship that bridges countries and languages.
Nana Akua Goes to School by Tricia Elam Walker
Zura feels nervous about Nana Akua visiting her school for Grandparents Day because Nana has permanent African tribal marks on her face. When the day arrives, Nana Akua explains that she is from Ghana and the marks were a gift from her parents and she feels proud to wear them. She shows the class a quilt filled with other symbols from Ghana and each child gets to pick a symbol to wear on their face with face paint.
Zura’s classmates love it and so do the other grandparents. It’s a beautiful moment that transforms Zura’s worry into pride for her family’s heritage. Nana Akua Goes to School has such gorgeous folk-art and expressive illustrations.
Kiyoshi’s Walk by Mark Karlins
Walk with Kiyoshi and his poet grandfather Eto through the town as his grandfather shows Kiyoshi where poems come from. When Eto stops to write a poem, Kiyoshi realizes that poems come from what you see, what you hear, what you imagine, and what you feel. So he writes a poem, too. Then they walk home, seeing that in everything there is a poem. Kiyoshi’s Walk is not only a great book to celebrate grandparents, but to talk about poetry as well!
What are some of your favorite books about grandparents to read aloud?
Free Picture Book List
Looking for more books to read aloud with your students? Grab this FREE list of books to teach Social Emotional Learning skills! SEL skills are more important than ever before. This book list of social emotional learning topics will make it so much easier to teach these skills to your students. The titles are split up by SEL skill and competency. This will make it easy for you to teach just one at a time!
Save this Book List
Be sure to save this pin to your favorite read alouds board on Pinterest! You’ll be able to come back to this book list when you are ready to read them aloud with your students.
