A young girl explains to her baby brother all of the good things that happen while visiting Grandma and Grandpa, even passing along tips for the very long car ride like bringing lots of books and games. The soft illustrations show the girl on previous visits enjoying every season with her grandparents. The quiet, gently amusing story will resonate with both children and adults.
As the young girl helps prepare her baby brother for his first long car ride to visit grandma and grandpa's house, she shares lots of personal stories to which many young children will relate. Between splashing in puddles with Grandma to watching Grandpa perform magic tricks, children will likely be reminded of the special times they share with their grandparents. In addition to relating to the memories, preschool-age children will love the bright, homey pictures of the girl and the fun times she has had on both the car ride to her grandparent's house as well as the actual visit. A few of the pictures are especially clever, such as when the little girl tells her brother about watching the snow fall at grandma and grandpa's and drives home the point by dropping snow confetti on her baby brother.
Encourage your child to share the special memories they have of visiting their grandparents or perhaps share with them things that you remember from your childhood visits. If your family is like the one in the book and visits to the grandparents' house involves long car rides, brainstorm with your preschooler what some fun activities would be to do in the car so that you're both prepared for the next visit.
Emily, the three-year-old I nanny for, has a three-hour car ride whenever she visits her grandma so she can relate to the story. We talked about things that she likes to do on the drive as well as fun activities she does with her grandma once she arrives. In a few months, Emily will become a big sister to a little brother, which she pointed out would be just like the girl in the book.
--Abby