8 Great Grandparents Day Books
It seems like we barely get our school routines established before Grandparents Day rolls around in September every year. Are you looking for great Grandparents Day books to read aloud? You’re in the right place, my friend!
Here is a list of picture books that school librarians love to read aloud as part of Grandparents Day celebrations at school. Read on to the end for links to printable activities for grandparents and students to enjoy together.
The Hello, Goodbye Window
The Hello, Goodbye Window by Norton Juster, illustrated by Chris Raschka, is a Caldecott Medal winner, great for reading aloud to PreK-second grade. The story revolves around the kitchen window at Nanna and Poppy’s house and tells about a young girl’s visit with her grandparents. She colors at the kitchen table, counts stars with Nanna, and finds the raisins Poppy hides in her breakfast oatmeal. She is happy to see her parents out the window but sad that her wonderful time with her grandparents has ended.
Beneath
Beneath, written and illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld, is on many state award lists. It’s a lovely story about a child on a walk in the woods with their grandfather, with enough layers of meaning to be enjoyed by kindergarten through fifth grade. The book suggests that both the grandfather and the grandchild are sad because they’ve lost the person who made the quilt that Finn is walking beneath. Read this with the Novel Effect soundscape to add realistic forest sounds that will amaze your students AND your grandparent guests.
Hey, Grandude! and Grandude’s Green Submarine
Did you know that Paul McCartney wrote a picture book? Hey Grandude! is written by Paul McCartney and illustrated by Kathryn Durst. This pair also collaborated to create the sequel, Grandude’s Green Submarine, which also shows Nandude, Grandude’s partner in adventure. Both are great choices to read aloud to kindergarten through second grade students. In Hey, Grandude!, the bearded grandude uses a magical compass and post cards to transport his four grandchildren (“Chillers”) to a beach, the Old West, a Swiss meadow, and then back home for bedtime.
In Grandude’s Green Submarine, Grandude and the four Chillers use the magical compass to travel in his green submarine that can also fly. Nandude shows up with her magical music to help everyone arrive home safely, after a journey that includes a parade, dancing rain forest animals, and a scary octopus. Ask your students where they would like to go, if they could go on a magical journey with their grandparents. Ask the grandparents where they’d like to go, too!
Drawn Together
Drawn Together, written by Minh Le and illustrated by Dan Santat, is another grandparents day book that can be appreciated by kindergarten through fifth grade students. Named a Best Book of 2018 by multiple journals, Drawn Together tells the story of a young Asian American boy who struggles during his visit with his Thai-speaking grandfather due to the language barrier. But then they discover “a world beyond words” in their love of drawing, and they’re able to “see each other for the first time.” There are few words in the book, so ask your students to tell you what they think the characters are thinking and feeling. If you have time, watch the videos by Dan Santat (1 minute) and Minh Le (9 minutes) about the process of creating this book. The Minh Le video includes a read-aloud of the book, including translations of the Thai words!
Memory Jars
Memory Jars, written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol, can be enjoyed by your kindergarten through fifth grade students, who will appreciate it on different levels. Freda picks blueberries with her gran, but she’s disappointed when she can’t eat all the blueberries they’ve picked. Gran teaches her to save them in a jar as jam, and Freda starts saving all of her favorite things in jars. Your students can write down favorite memories on grandparents day and throughout the school year, then add them to a Mason jar that you’ll open and read from at the end of the school year. Or they can work with their grandparents to create their own memory jar to share and take home with them. If you have time, you can watch this video (7 minutes) of author/illustrator Vera Brosgol making blueberry jam, like the characters in the book.
How to Babysit a Grandpa
How to Babysit a Grandpa, written by Jean Reagan and illustrated by Lee Wildish, is a hilarious, best-selling picture book, perfect for a grandparents day with PreK-second grade. The comic how-to tips include what to eat for snack (anything dipped in ketchup), what to do on a walk (look for lizards and cool rocks), and how to play with a grandpa. The same team also created How to Babysit a Grandma. After reading, ask your students to write or draw about what they would do to take care of their grandpa or other older family member.
Last Stop on Market Street
Last Stop on Market Street, written by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson, won the Newbery Medal, and is a great grandparents day book for Prek-second grade. You can find a soundscape and printable activities for this book on the Novel Effect app. CJ and his Nana ride the bus from church through a vibrant city to help at the soup kitchen. As you read, you can see the comfortable, inspiring bond between grandmother and grandson. You can watch author Matt de la Pena read this story aloud while riding a bus on this video with elementary school students in Kansas City (11 minutes).
More Grandparents Day Books
- Nana Upstairs Nana Downstairs by Tomie dePaola
- Grandmothers Galore! by Judith Henderson
- Thank You, Omu by Oge Mora
- Abuela by Arthur Dorros
- The Napping House by Audrey Wood
- Hooray for Grandparents Day! by Nancy Carlson
- Nana in the City by Lauren Castillo
- Nana in the Country by Lauren Castillo
- Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
- Just Grandma and Me by Mercer Mayer
- When I am Old With You by Angela Johnson
- Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
- Mice and Beans by Pam Muñoz Ryan
- Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina
- Joy Takes Root by Gwendolyn Wallace
- The Remember Balloons by Jessie Oliveros
- Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji by Farhana Zia
- A Busy Day for a Good Grandmother by Margaret Mahy
- Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell
- Oma’s Quilt by Paulette Bourgeois
- Grandpa’s Tractor by Michael Garland
- When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree by Jamie L. B. Deenihan
- How to Send a Hug by Hayley Rocco
- Grandma’s Purse by Vanessa Brantley-Newton
Free Grandparents Day Printable Activities
- The Cutest Grandparent Coloring Pages with blanks to fill out
- Printable Grandparents Day cards
I hope you enjoy a fabulous grandparents’ day with your school community!
