Grandaddy's Place

Grandaddy's Place by Helen V. Griffith, pictures by James Stevenson
no awards that I am aware of

I liked this book a lot. It is an illustrated chapter book. I read all four chapters in one sitting to my daughter this evening. It actually feels more like a picture book, but it does have four "epsisodes". It's a story about a girl visiting her grandaddy for the first time,  along with her mom. The conversations between Janetta and her grandaddy are pretty perfect somehow. The author has those voices "down" and it completely charmed both Makayla (age 7) and I.

I actually tell the story this author tells in her book Georgia Music. And so it was fun to find this "prequel" to that. I love the connectedness depicted so well between grandaddy and Janetta. And we laughed pretty much on every page. But the kind of laughing that comes from  just enjoying the people rather than from hearing a joke.

Here's an example:
After dark Momma and Grandaddy and Janetta sat out on the steps. The mean-looking cat wasn't anywhere around. Janetta hoped the wasps were asleep. She was beginning to feel sleepy herself. Then a terrible sound from the woods brought her wide awake.
     "Was that the mule?" she asked.
     "That was just an old hoot owl singing his song," said Grandaddy.
     "It didn't sound like singing to me," said Janetta.
     " If you were an owl, you'd be tapping your feet," said Grandaddy.

*****
Anyhow, I'd recommend this one! Enjoy!