My Grandmother and Me: A Memory Scrapbook for Kids

Dave Jenkinson is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba and the author of the “Portraits” section of Emergency Librarian.

Drake and Love are well known for activity-based books such as The Kids
Cottage Book and Kids and Grandparents. The books under review are
little more than illustrated scrapbooks with labeled sections where
children and/or their grandparents can check off multiple-choice boxes,
fill in the blanks, or affix photos and other items such as locks of
hair or fingerprints.

Each of the 15 pairs of facing pages is organized around a theme such
as “What We Like to Eat,” “Naughty and Nice,” or “Where We
Live.” In turn, the pages contain parallel statements for the
grandchild to complete about him/herself and the grandparent: “I live
in [city/town], [country]”; “My grandmother lives in [city/town],
[country].” Some of the required responses are open-ended: “Here is
one of my grandmother’s special stories”; “Here is one of my
special stories.” The most frequently used response form is the
multiple-choice answer that incorporates an open-response option: “My
grandmother thinks the strangest food I eat is: gummy worms, cold
spaghetti, spinach, [open]”; “I think the strangest food my
grandmother eats is: sardines on toast, snails, tofu, [open].” The
inside back cover forms a pocket for storing “treasures” such as
letters.

The authors show a sensitivity to other cultures via Ritchie’s
cartoonlike illustrations and through the text in places such as
“Holidays and Celebrations” where Jewish, Christian, and Islamic
holidays, as well as Kwanza, are noted. However, by producing two
essentially parallel books in which the principal difference is the
grandparent’s gender, the authors tread the sexism tightrope. While
grandmothers make the best macaroni, bread, cookies, and soup,
grandfathers make the best pancakes, hamburgers, popcorn, and toast.
When grandchildren visit their grandmother, they discover that her
favorite inside place is a kitchen, gym, or museum, while
grandfather’s choices are the kitchen, garage, and bowling alley.
While at grandmother’s, grandchildren like to look at her photographs,
button box, baseball cards, and rock collection; at grandfather’s,
attention is focused on his photographs, trophies and stamp collection.
Obviously a personal as opposed to library purchase. Recommended with
reservations.