Grandparents Song

Grandparent’s Song is a beautiful story along with beautiful illustrations that were inspired by American Folk art. The main character is a girl who says- “My eyes are green like the sea, like the sea and my hair is dark and blows free, blows free”. The character tells us all about her grandparents and the different places they came from. She tells us about her mother’s parents as well as her father’s parents. My favorite passage that I read from the character was towards the ending of the story where she says, - “From the four directions my grandparents came their lives are a river that flows through my veins”. It is clear to see that the girl admires her grandparents and feels that no matter where they came from she is a show more part of them. The story seems to be almost like a song because on each page a lot of things the young girl says is repeated more than once. This is a sweet story that I find young readers would thoroughly enjoy reading as well as admire the illustration. show less

When a young girl learns about her family tree she discovers more than she imagined. She has dark hair and flows free but is made from people who are from all over the world. Her roots are deep and flow from one side of the earth to the other. Her mother was born in the western America but her mother's mom is from Mexico. Her grandfather is from Great Britain and her father is from what seems to be Louisiana. His mother came from Rio Grande who married an African American man. For every direction that her family is from, makes the perfect river that flows through her veins. I loved this book for many reasons. Trough the illustrations we see a variety of cultures and people from all over the world. Most importantly these people make her show more who she is. These are the people that made her dark hair flow so free. This book got me thinking about my own roots and if I really know my ancestry. After reading this book I am intrigued to see my family tree and really see where my ancestors are from and who I really am. show less

This beautiful story is written in the form of the song. It flows so beautifully. A multicultural girl tells about all of the roots of her family. She sings about all her parents and grandparents and tells about their backgrounds. She explains how all of these backgrounds make her who she is. This is an amazing book to have in the classroom library. It teaches a wonderful lesson about ethnicity. I really loved this story and would really love to sing it to my class in the future.

This book definitely has a teachable aspect and a pleasant reoccurring scaffold, but its brevity lends to surface level examination of the subject. I like the book and I would use it if I were teaching family to a primary grade reader, but it doesn't have the deeper draw that I was after when I picked it up.

This book might encourage children to explore their own family tree like the girl in the book did. She wants to know where her ancestors come from and experiences a journey to many different places and cultures. The author uses verse that totally fits the intention of the author to create a mystic atmosphere. The illustrations are wonderful and very well-thought!

Grandparents Song is told by a girl who goes through her family tree. The girl has green eyes and dark hair, she likes to be one with nature, and spend time with her family. The girl’s mother came from the West, and her grandmother was a Native American who had eyes of black and rode an Appaloosa horse. The girl’s grandmother said she came from the earth, and she married a man whose eyes were green. Her grandfather was a white man and he had crossed the cold northern sea to get to her grandmother. The girl’s father came from the South. His mother also had eyes of black and came across the Rio Grande. Her other grandmother married an African American man whose eyes were like night. Her grandfather’s people were slaves. The girl show more ends the song by saying that the four directions her grandparents came from run through her veins, and they are a part of who she is. This is a nice book to encourage students to trace back their family roots and see where everyone came from. I enjoyed the fact that each person in her family was a different ethnicity, and the girl reflected on how she got her body features. However, I would have liked there to be a little more story line to the book instead of just listing where each person came from. Overall, a nice book to introduce to a student how their ancestors could have come from different backgrounds. show less

I enjoyed this book. I really like this book because of its use of showing diversity through family. I think this could be used to introduce or enhance a lesson on family. Student would be triggered to learn more about their families and where they come from. I truly enjoyed this book and would love to incorporate it into a lesson.