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Grandpa Green. By Lane Smith (2012)

by Lane Smith(Favorite Author)

4.12 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0230766455 (ISBN13: 9780230766457)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

MacMillan Children's Books

review 1: I really enjoyed the illustrations in this book. It completely inspires the reader to visit and/or create their own super gardens. This picture book is definitely geared more toward adults than children, however the story should work well with older children who can elaborate on the illustrations. This book would work fabulously as a conversation starter if children were asked to design their own 'life experience' gardens.
review 2: Plot SummaryGrandpa Green unwinds the sentiment of its story with every turn of the page. The story tells the tale of a grandfather’s past, as narrated by his great-grandson, while the grandpa’s artistic creations serve as symbolic illustrations depicting meaningful moments in his life. The book centers on a beautiful garden ful... morel of shrub topiaries created and shaped, by the grandfather, into symbols of his treasured memories. As the young great-grandson tromps through the garden sculptures, recounting the beloved story of his great-grandpa’s life, he also reveals that his grandpa’s memory is beginning to fade. Notwithstanding, as Grandpa Green continues to work on the topiaries it becomes apparent that through this natural gift, the garden holds his memories and “…remembers for him.” (Smith 2011) As the story and life journey shapes towards a close, the heritage of this artistic talent and gift is made manifest as the young boy creates a topiary of his own, in the shape of his cherished grandpa.Critical AnalysisLane Smith has managed to take a delicate and tender subject and weave a story of comfort told through both text and illustration. The young character remains nameless and Grandpa Green’s simplicity allows the reader to place themselves in either character’s place. The young boy tells the story of his great-grandfather’s life in a simple manner, in some cases describing things as only the view of a child’s mind can. The book is rich in symbolism as evidenced in the young boy’s travels along a path shadowed by topiaries shaped by memories while he recounts his great-grandpa’s life. It is symbolic of the journey of life as the boy travels life’s path. Along the way, he plays in water, chases rabbits, and blows dandelions as carefree children do. Further down the path the boy begins picking up tools and objects his grandfather has left behind signifying the early decline of Grandpa Green’s memory.The story will resonate and touch all generations from young to old. Nestled inside a narrative depicting the journey of the patriarch’s life, the author delicately addresses the topic of aging & memory loss. It is written so expertly that while the book appears to be a straightforward children’s story, the elegantly simplistic illustrations evoke deeper meanings and greater significance to the childlike text.On nearly every page, one tree stands apart from the rest. Its distinctly defined shape clearly connotes a family tree with generations of offspring and descendants shaping the curves and direction of its branches. Various events chronicling Grandpa Green’s life are illustrated through the carefully sculpted trees. As he goes to war the topiary is shaped like a cannon with a tree branch blasting out of the cannon firing off a round topiary ball. This branch appears far out to the side of the main tree as if it was an unexpected offshoot from his intended path of life.The entire book is illustrated in a nearly monochromatic theme. Without becoming redundant and mundane it allows the reader to focus on the skillful details of the illustrations rather than only absorbing the overarching picture. Unique imagery creates a soothing mood, leaving the deeper meanings to be observed rather than read.The few spots where the single color theme is broken creates a contrast which conveys significant areas of importance through the silence of the illustrations. For instance, when the journey reaches the love story of finding his wife, the foliage is suddenly abloom with beautiful white blossoms. In a crowning accent, the topiary sculpture of his wife has a large pink hibiscus tucked behind her ear. The traditional meaning of the hibiscus flower is “delicate beauty” and “symbolizes the ‘perfect bride’”. (“eHow: The Meaning of the Hibiscus Flower,” last modified 2014) On the succeeding page, the center of a topiary hedge maze is marked with a heart, the symbol of love. The maze opens to the pathway the boy is traveling which behind him is rocky but before him is clear and undefined.After collecting several things left behind by his great-grandfather along the journey, the boy pauses to hang from a branch of a magnificently stalwart and seasoned tree, clearly aged and gnarled. Some branches have grown and flourished while others end abruptly or bear the scars of loss. Strong sturdy roots reach and arch deeply into the ground while leaving small glimpses of these anchors of the tree. These sections are exposed and visible to the branches above reminding them what has nourished them and borne their growth. From left to right the branches of the tree bear the emblems of the seasons during a tree’s life. Beginning with small tree buds, stretching into young fresh leaves, and maturing into large sheltering leaves, they vigilantly guard the tree which gave them life. Nearing the opposite end of the tree, the leaves begin to lose their viridity and turn to dry crisp leaves which begin to crinkle and winnow until the branches are nearly bare.It is at this point that, faintly in the background, a small topiary elephant emerges, almost unnoticed at first but unmistakably indicating the symbol of memory.Upon turning the page, the elephant is no longer small or faint but looms large and encompasses the entire page, with a deep dark color in striking contrast to the white of the page. This topiary is a bit unkempt around the edges with untrimmed places here and there as if they were spots forgotten. Atop the head of the elephant topiary sits a small gardener’s hat. The boy perches high atop a ladder, reaching with youthful ease, and retrieves the hat.The boy dons the hat and triumphantly emerges from the bushes to find his great-grandfather happily creating and shaping a new topiary. Unlike the young boy and his ladder, the great-grandfather is solidly planted on a low upturned barrel to reach his emerging work. Despite their age difference, the two gardeners have found areas of mutual ground from their matching clothing to their evident love of the creations born of memories and brought to life in their garden. Somewhere along the boy’s journey, he picks up the great-grandfather’s forgotten glasses. As he returns them, his great-grandpa can now clearly see his topiary memories which were previously unclear. Symbolically, it is often the presence of loved ones that triggers and activates memories long forgotten and buried in the mind.Finally, the hat is passed to its rightful owner as the spectacular grandeur of this master gardener’s work bursts forth in an extended gatefold illustration encompassing his entire life’s story through his topiary symbols. Looming largest of all is the newly completed topiary of his great-grandson bravely lunging forward towards the future, battling a creature unknown. This creature was previously seen early in the boy’s journey lurking and watching him from behind, not yet ready to confront the innocence of the boy’s youth. Now the boy is ready to tackle it head on with skill and bravery. On each side of the gatefold, the trees now lean in, framing the two gardeners. This time the branches tightly intertwine, wrapping around each other closely, embracing and increasing the strength of their limbs.The final page closes the story with a starkly clean white page with only the young boy, now standing on the upturned barrel using well-worn familiar clippers as he has begun creating a topiary of his own, portraying the memory and likeness of his own great-grandfather.I found the story deeply touching, but admittedly did not catch the significant amount of symbolism during the first few readings. Having lost my own father, I identified with the desire to commemorate and capture the meaning of his life in some tangible way. This young child carries his great-grandfather’s legacy in continuing his work. In its simplest form this children’s book tells the tale of the grandfather’s life. The unique illustrations and soft details will captivate most children. Through multiple readings a child will continue to discover new treasures amongst the drawings. The gatefold provides an always intriguing feature as well. There’s no doubt an adult reader will find the story more touching and heartfelt based on their own life experiences.Lesson Ideas:Use Grandpa Green as a literary introduction to the concept and medium of sculpting.Read Grandpa Green to foster thinking and encourage personal expression for student’s as they ponder their own journey. Students can envision and create their own future path through illustration.Pair with The Giving Tree to have students draw comparisons and find connections and distinctions between the two journeys taken. less

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