Grandmas Are The Best! American Girl is a Random House Books American Girl publication and Little Golden Book focused on various Historical Characters and their relationships with their grandmothers.
Contents[]
The book starts with talking about how grandmothers are special in many ways such as giving advice, teaching, and sharing wisdom--and loving their grandchildren. It then focuses briefly on the various grandmother-granddaughter connection of five historical characters.
- Kaya, who calls her (maternal) grandmother Kautsa, learns how to gather food for her people and weave baskets from grass. Kaya gives Kautsa the first basket she makes; it's imperfect, but Kautsa loves it as a gift from her granddaughter. In the evening Kaya and the other children love to gather around the fire and listen to the many stories Kautsa tells; she has lived a long time and so knows many, all exciting.
- Josefina Montoya calls her grandmother Abuelita. Since Abuelita lives in Santa Fe, visiting is a treat. Abuelita takes Josefina to the big market in Santa Fe where there are many things to buy, and admire the lace, jewelry, and fancy combs. Abuelita dresed elegantly and shows Josefina to do the same.
- Rebecca Rubin, who is growing up in New York City, has a grandmother she calls "Bubbie", the Yiddish for "grandmother"; Bubbie immigrated from Russia to New York with her family. Every Friday night she and Rebecca make special bread called hallah, and Bubbie showed her how to know it was done by knocking on it; she also shows her how to make latkes for Hanukkah.
- Nanea Mitchell calls her grandmother Tutu; she owns a grocery store, where Nanea loves to visit. Nanea wants to help, but Tutu isn't sure Nanea is responsible enough until Nanea makes her own store display. Every week Nanea attends Tutu's hula clases, where she learns to tell stories through the dance; her dog, Mele, likes to dance too. When Mele goes missing, Tutu comforts Nanea and promises that Mele will be found safe--and she is.
- Melody Ellison's grandmother is called Big Momma, though she's not much taller than Melody; it's a term of respect. She also has a big heart and singing voice. When Melody is nervous about singing a solo in chruch, Big Momma helps her practice, giving Melody bravery and confidence to perform and saying to keep her heart and voice strong. Big Momma keeps a shoebox of art supplies called the "just in case" box, just in case someone wants to makes something beautiful. For Mother's Day, Melody makes a bouquet of red roses, pink freesias, and green ferns as they both love flowers.
The book concludes by saying that grandmothers are ready to feed, comfort, teach, or tell stories and asks the reader to think about what makes their grandmother special.
Trivia[]
- Kaya has two living grandmothers, Kautsa and Aalah; however only her maternal grandmother is discussed.
- Only five characters are highlighted; there are more details for each character as each has four pages instead of only two. This is also true in Making a Difference! American Girl.
- The characters are discussed in chronological order.
See Also[]
- Happy Birthday! American Girl
- Happy Holidays! American Girl
- Making a Difference! American Girl
- Time for School! American Girl