Grandpa+Green




 * Bibliographic Information: **
 * Title || Grandpa Green ||
 * Illustrated by || Lane Smith ||
 * Edition || illustrated, unabridged ||
 * Publisher || Macmillan, 2011 ||
 * ISBN || 1596436077, 9781596436077 ||
 * Length || 32 pages ||


 * Literary Analysis: **

This piece of literature is full of great illustrations. The story is told mainly through the illustrations with few words to guide the reader along. The grandfather who the book is about ends up being a gardener so the illustrations that tell his life are through horticulture. The trees and plants are shaped to the different aspects of his life. For example the first page of the story is a bush that is shaped into a crying child with the words “He was born a really long time ago.” The illustrations are what really capture the reader’s attention. There was another part in the story that talks about how the grandfather fell in love and got married the illustrations for that were beautifully depicted by a wonderfully decorated cake and a woman decorated with flowers. Overall it can be seen that the illustrations were carefully planned out and help tell the story very well.


 * Summary: **

From the creator of the national bestseller it's a Book comes a timeless story of family history, legacy and love. Grandpa Green wasn't always a gardener. He was a farmboy a kid with chicken pox and a soldier and, most of all an artist. In this captivating new picture book, readers follow Grandpa Green's great-grandson into a garden he created, a fantastic world where memories are handed down in the fanciful shapes of topiary trees and imagination recreates things forgotten.In his most enigmatic and beautiful work to date, Lane Smith explores aging, memory, and the bonds of family history and love; by turns touching and whimsical, it's a stunning picture book that parents and grandparents will be sharing with children for years to come.


 * Review: **

This book tells the tale of a grandfather through wonderful pictures and illustrations. It takes the grandson of the main character through the story his grandfather’s life through the pictures portrayed by the garden the grandpa makes. It is an inspiring story for people of all ages. It is a great way to tell the history of a beloved family member. Not only are you telling a story but showing it through something that person loves. The illustrations are beautiful and fit the story very well.


 * About the Author: **

Lane Smith has written and illustrated a bunch of stuff, including //It's a Book//; //John, Paul, George & Ben// and //Madam President//. His titles with Jon Scieszka have included the Caldecott Honor-winner //The Stinky Cheese Man//; //The True Story// //of the 3 Little Pigs//; //Math Curse//; and //Science Verse//. Lane's other high profile titles include //Hooray for Diffendoofer Day//! by Dr. Seuss and Jack Prelutsky; //The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip// by George Saunders; //Big Plans// by Bob Shea; and //James and the Giant Peach// by Roald Dahl. In 1996 Lane served as Conceptual Designer on the Disney film version of //James and the Giant Peach//. Lane also wrote and illustrated the retro, cult favorites, //The Happy Hocky Family// and //The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country//. Like the Hocky family, he and book designer Molly Leach live in a little town in the country.
 * Related Links:**

http://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=25358&a=1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDbEfsdIGjI

 Literary Analysis: This piece of literature is full of great illustrations. The story is told mainly through the illustrations with few words to guide the reader along. The grandfather who the book is about ends up being a gardener so the illustrations that tell his life are through horticulture. The trees and plants are shaped to the different aspects of his life. For example the first page of the story is a bush that is shaped into a crying child with the words “He was born a really long time ago.” The illustrations are what really capture the reader’s attention. There was another part in the story that talks about how the grandfather fell in love and got married the illustrations for that were beautifully depicted by a wonderfully decorated cake and a woman decorated with flowers. Overall it can be seen that the illustrations were carefully planned out and help tell the story very well.