Encyclopedia of grannies by Eric Veille

Gecko Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781776572434.
(Age: 4+) Themes: Humour, Grandmothers, Diversity, Expectations. With a tongue placed firmly in the cheek, this overview of what to expect from a grandmother will encourage howls of recognition alongside surprises for the unwary as a huge array of behaviours are attributed to the grandmothers of the world.
The board book type of publication will be able to ward off rough wear and tear as many young children will want to read of their exploits and share what their grannies do. From the front hard cover showing a grannie in her tights springing across the page her two grandchildren hanging onto a leg each, readers will respond with smiles and lots of laughter. This is not what a grandmother is expected to do.
Opening the book, a page is devoted to the general sort of grandmother, then their ages, and what to call them. And over the pages, more unusual behaviour is shown: knitting, flexibility, vocabulary, their cats, the way they use buses, how they travel and so on, each different page alive with humorous comments about how they live and expounds the idea that they are knowledgable, clever, fond of cats, certainly fond of their grandchildren and live lives full of interest and variety. Not to be underestimated, and certainly not ignored.
Funny illustrations serve to highlight the text, and readers will have fun reading the small boxes of text on each page to see how it fits with the theme. This book will serve to be a great starting off point for discussions about grandparents as part of the family.
Fran Knight