Book Review: Stepping Out with Grandma Mac

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grimes, Nikki. STEPPING OUT WITH GRANDMA MAC. Ill. Angelo. New York, NY: Orchard Books. ISBN 9780531303207

2. SUMMARY
In this book, a young girl tells the story of her relationship with her grandmother through a series of poems, each describing a memory or an emotion tied to Grandma Mac. Grandma Mac does not fit the typical grandmother archetype that the main character has in her mind. Grandma Mac does not bake cookies or spoil her granddaughter in any way and never says anything sweet like "come here sugar". Even so, the girl finds small ways to connect with her grandmother and ends up figuring out that her grandmother does love her but has her own ways of showing (or not showing) her love.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Through poetry, Nikki Grimes manages to discuss with grace a very important but difficult subject. Families are not all the same. Children need to know that families come in all shapes and sizes and that just because their family does not match the ones in their picture books, it doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with them. The girl in this book had a "grandma in [her] mind". She probably developed this image from a combination of sources including books. She spends quite a bit of time trying to reconcile this idea of what a grandma should be like with her own living, breathing grandmother that happened to be a real person. The rhythm of her poetry lends itself beautifully to oral expression and the language is simple enough for young readers to enjoy without having to try and interpret meaning.

Angelo's simple but realistic pen and ink drawings help the reader to imagine certain elements of the poems. They are not on every page and they really do not need to be. Although they are lovely drawings, Grimes' poems are strong enough to stand alone if need be.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS
Bank Street College Best Book of the Year
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "A rewarding poetry experience."


5. CONNECTIONS
* Ask children to compile a list of words that they associate with grandparents, then have them discuss any ways a grandparent of theirs is different from this collection of words.
* Have children brainstorm different ways of showing a person that you love and care about them
* Compile poetry books about family