Following Grandfather by Rosemary Wells illustrated by Christopher Denise

"It was Grandfather who taught me the names of all the shells: luck shells, boat shells, comb shells, winkles, and the rare queen's teacup, which washes up only once in a blue moon."

Jenny and her grandfather like to visit their local beach - Revere Beach in Boston - and yes this is a real place.

See more pages inside Following Grandfather here

Her grandfather came to the US from Italy and as a young man worked in an Italian restaurant. Now he has retired and Jenny's parents run the restaurant. Grandfather has the time to look after and share his wisdom with Jenny but sadly he is coming to the end of his life.

Here is a special extract from this story:

"My parents worked late into the night, so it was Grandfather who spooned warm milk over my evening pudding. It was his hand that showed me how to button my buttons and how to draw J for Jenny. Into Grandfather's vest pocket went my first tooth, and to the ticking of his pocket watch I slept."

And my favourite scene is when Grandfather takes Jenny to the Jordan Marsh and Fliene department store. 

"There the latest fashions from Paris and Milan are copied exactly from the downstairs models. They are painstakingly sewn from sippets of silk and organza stolen from the main racks at night. ... I tried on every outfit and modeled them for Grandfather. He sat patiently, leaning on his mother-of-pearl tipped walking stick and examining the tailoring carefully, as if we could have afforded them."

Two names jumped out at me from the cover of Following Grandfather - Rosemary Wells (author of all those wonderful books about Max and Ruby) and Christopher Denise (illustrator of Knight Owl).

Bookseller blurb (this book is from 2012 and so is now out of print): 

Invisible to humans exists a parallel world of mice, where young Jenny misses her cherished grandfather so much that she begins to see him everywhere. Jenny is as close to her grandfather as a small mouse can be. Grandfather shows Jenny how to button her buttons and how to write her name. He passes along to her the secrets of making the best lasagna in all of Boston. And during long, shared days at Revere Beach, Grandfather teaches Jenny the names of the seashells they find washed up on shore. When Grandfather is all of a suddenly gone one day, the hole he leaves behind is too great for Jenny to fathom. Isn’t that him turning a corner, sitting on a bench, heading for the pier, walking along their beloved beach? Jenny runs after the familiar silver whiskers, hoping. ... Rosemary Wells peels back the layers of grief to reveal, at its core, something as exquisite and achingly beautiful as the rare and storied queen’s teacup seashell. Christopher Denise illustrates mid-century Boston with affection, and a mouse and her grandfather with gentle humor and unabashed sympathy.

This time spent together - old and young - made me think of this wonderful picture book:

I am an adult and I need to say that there is so much in this book that appeals to me, but I am not entirely sure if this is a book for very young readers. Not because of the content, even though the grandfather does die, but more because of the references to American culture and history and also the exploration of the concept of class and privilege. This quote explains this idea:

"I learned all the mice in the city and what they did to make a living. Grandfather tipped his hat to Senator Lodge himself and to the Cabot nursemaids, the fried-seed vendor, and the poorest rat who swept the sewers. Grandfather said hello to the world. I learned to say hello, too, in that way that made the world smile back."

Rosemary Wells expresses in a beautiful way sandcastles that are swept away by a rising tide - she calls them melting sandcastles and she also uses the delightful words 'crenellated tower' to describe the inside of one sandcastle. And you will want to think about the meaning of the title. And I do love the idea of collecting special shells. 

Following Grandfather has 58 illustrated pages so it is a very quick book to read but if you read this book aloud in your family you may find yourself explaining these things:

• Meaning of the word 'revere': to be in awe of and respect deeply; venerate
• Places - Revere Beach in Boston; Holy Cross Cathedral on Washington Street; Martha's Vineyard.
• Italian foods - biscotti, gelato, mozzarella, cappolatte anisetto, tortellini, lasagna puttanesca
• Riding in a streetcar (we might call this a tram).
• Ship names 'Leonardo da Vinci'; Titanic; Carpathia and you will want to explore the sinking of the Titanic in more detail.
• Grandfather wears spats and has mother of pearl buttons

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything explains her reservations about the audience for Following Grandfather in her blog post. 

Beautifully written text and endearing gray-scale illustrations transport readers and add to the poignancy of the tale. The message that all people are worthy of respect is artfully delivered and the manner in which Jenny mourns her grandfather's death will evoke empathy from young readers who have suffered a similar loss. School Library Journal

Losing someone you love is always painful, but for the young such a loss can be devastating and incomprehensible. In this beautifully written and illustrated story, we come to appreciate how special Jenny’s grandfather is, and we see how the little mouse struggles to come to terms with her grief. Through the Looking Glass

Writing with tenderness and humor, Wells creates an authentic, parallel, mouse-sized world within Boston while introducing readers to human-sized devotion and grief in the fully developed relationship between Jenny and Grandfather. Kirkus

I do enjoy books about mice that incorporate the human world such as these:

A Nest for Celeste

Bless this Mouse

Secrets at Sea

Violet and Jobie in the Wild

Always Clementine

Mousenet

Umbrella Mouse

Watercress by Andrea Wang illustrated by Jason Chin

Watercress isn’t loud. It doesn’t need to be.

The prose is spare and poetic. The watercolor illustrations are subtle, immersive, and rich with emotion. This book whispers truths: about shame and pride, about family and survival, and about the painful beauty of remembering. The Wardens of Magic

Understated, deep, and heart-rending -

bring tissues. Kirkus Star review

The big mystery of this Caldecott winning book is that it was not distributed here in Australia and yet this is a story that could easily translate to our context. AND this book won the 2022 Caldecott Medal. You can still buy this book but the hardcover edition of this book costs between AUS$35 and AUS$47 and so will be beyond the budget of most school libraries. Trove only list ten public and university libraries with this book. Luckily, I was able to re-read Watercress in a public library a couple of weeks ago - Green Square Library. I discovered it there a couple of years ago. You can see the whole book on this video. Here is an interview with Andrea Wang and Jason Chin.

Here is the synopsis from Wikipedia: A young girl is in the car with her brother and parents when they come across wild watercress growing on the side of the road. Her parents excitedly pull over and instruct the children to help them gather the watercress. The girl feels embarrassed to be seen by passing cars and disgusted by the mud and snails that are on the plants. The watercress is prepared for dinner that night, but the girl initially refuses to eat it because she is ashamed of their "dinner from a ditch". Her mother brings out a picture from her childhood and, for the first time, talks about the famine that her family suffered. Feeling guilty, the girl takes a bite of the watercress. She discovers that she likes the taste and reflects on the new memory she and her family have created.

My former school had a unit of study with the Grade 6 classes about our multicultural country here in Australia - Watercress is a book I would have loved to share as a part of this class topic alongside other books about The Refugee Experience Through Picture Books. 

You should also look for this book which is based on the years in China of the great famine.

Sparrow Girl

Author note from Andrea Wang: This story is about the power of memory. Not just the beautiful memories, like the ones my mother and father had about eating watercress in China, but also the difficult ones, the memories that are sometimes too painful to share. It starts with my own distressing memory of being made to pick watercress that was growing wild by the side of the road. As the child of Chinese immigrants, growing up in a small, mostly white town in Ohio, I was very aware of how different my family and I were from everyone else. It's hard to feel like you don't belong, and collecting food from a muddy roadside ditch just made that bad feeling more intense for me -- something my very practical parents didn't understand. When I was young, my parents didn't talk about their memories of China, of growing up poor, losing siblings, and surviving war. I don't blame them -- these are difficult topics to discuss with children. But it's important, too, for children to understand their family history. Perhaps if I had known about the hardships they had faced, I would have been more compassionate as a child. Maybe I would have felt more empathy and less anger. More pride in my heritage and less shame. Memories have the power to inform, to inspire, and to heal. This story is both an apology and a love letter to my parents. It's also an encouragement to all children who feel different and to families with difficult pasts -- share your memories. Tell your stories.

Prizes for Watercress:

• Caldecott Medal Winner
• Newbery Honor Award
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature
• Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award 2022
• New England Book Award Winner
• 2021 Boston Globe – Horn Book Honor Book
• 2021 Cybils Award 

See more here. 

I previously talked about these books by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin:

Luli and the Language of Tea

Life after whale

A Taste of Home by Maryam Hassan illustrated by Anna Wilson

Tariqu's teacher announces the class will hold a special picnic and everyone is invited to bring one special dish to celebrate family and culture. The kids are excited and mention so many different foods such as yakisoba (Japanese fried noodles) and perogies (Polish dumplings).  Tariq talks to various family members and each make a good suggestion - saag paneer (vegetarian Indian curry), crispy paratha (unleavened layered flatbreads), or falooda (frozen dessert with vermicelli, jelly, rose syrup, sabja seeds, milk and ice cream). Each food leads to a description of an adventure or special experience. Finally Tariq decides. 

"He chopped onions, garlic and ginger with his dad. He picked the freshest herbs from the garden with his sister, and he mixed it all to form perfectly round patties to fry with his mum."

He has made bun kebabs. 

A Taste of Home is on the 2026 Inclusive Books for Children list. 

Make a note of this book - it is one to share for Harmony Week which this year was 16-22nd March. Check out my Pinterest for more book ideas. 

I especially loved the illustrations in A Taste of Home and then I discovered Anna Wilson is Australian but she now lives in Scotland. You can see some of her books at the end of this post.

There are a couple of things that I wish were different about this book.

1. I would have loved to find a list of all the foods and some recipes and also some cultural details about the different treats and tastes.

2. I do wish the final page had not ended with a pirate scene. I have previously talked about the link between pirates and people smugglers and the dreadful experiences of refugees. Many school libraries no longer promote pirate stories for this reason.

Companion books:

Stay for Dinner

Books illustrated by Anna Wilson:

The Librarian's Stories

Love Birds

Noah's New Home by Zeshan Akhter illustrated by Nabila Adani

Many years ago my Grade 6 students and I used to watch a ABC program where refugee children talked about leaving their homeland, their dangerous journey across the world, arriving in a new place, and their hopes for the future. I vividly remember one young girl who talked about her sister's reaction to planes flying over head. She would run for cover - shaking and terrified - even though she was safe here in Australia, because the sound of a plane meant a bomb was about to be dropped. I watched this program many times but that interview is the one that has lingered with me decades later. 

In this book it is the sound of fireworks that are terrifying for young Noah. He recalls his memories - good and bad - of his homeland. One day a bomb landed and it killed his Baba. This is such a terrible memory.

"The air shook. The windows shook. Noah shook. Noah my darling it's just fireworks ... But fireworks made Noah remember when the sky exploded outside his old home."

Luckily Noah has good friends and neighbours who offer other activities such as drawing, music and delicious food - and each of these allow Noah to remember the good times. Best off all someone suggested headphones so Noah can see the pretty colours without the scary sounds. 

This book is included on the Inclusive Books for Children (IBC) Awards and Read For Empathy – Primary list. Noah's new home is available in paperback for a really good price here in Australia. I highly recommend this book as an addition to your Primary school library. 

Bookseller blurb: In a tale of home and healing, Noah’s family have taken a journey no one should have to make. They arrive in a different country as refugees. While settling into their new house, Noah misses his Baba, Jida and their old home. When a fireworks display brings back both happy memories and difficult moments of their journey and arrival, his family and their new community support him in facing his fears and feeling hopeful for the future. This timely and heartfelt story is a deeply emotional exploration of the lasting impact of the refugee experience and the tragedy of war. The perfect companion to The Suitcase, The Journey and The Other Side.

I am not sure if these are the books the publisher blurb means:

The Suitcase

To the other side

I previously talked about this book by Zeshan Akhter. She lives in Glasgow.

My name is a gift

Nabila Adahi lives in Indonesia. You can see more of her books here. I am keen to see this one:

Muttonfish Magic by Aunty Ruth Simms, Lucy Robertson and Jasmine Seymour

"These are true stories from my lived memory in my mother's language, as well as the memories of my sisters and brothers ... They are stories from a different time, and from a place significant to all Australians." Aunty Ruth Simms

Publisher blurb: Aunty Ruth remembers going with her mother and brothers on a day out to the cove near their home, to learn traditional fishing and abalone hunting and cooking methods. After a day on the rocks watching mum work her magic, they return home with a feed for their family.

There are two text lines in this book that really resonated with me:

"We filled our pram with just enough muttonfish for a family meal ... "

This is the essence of sustainability surely. They only took what the family needed.

"No plaque marks our fishing spot or spills our secrets. We remember."

These simple words are a powerful way to talk to the children in your family and library about the importance of shared stories, shared culture, wisdom of the elders, and community memories. 

This book should be an essential addition to your school library.

Dharug woman and Prime Minister’s Literary Award winner Jasmine Seymour accentuates the family’s bond through illustrations that radiate warmth and connection. Her expressive depictions of family interactions, combined with luminous land and waterscapes and meticulous renderings of local flora, deepen the book’s sense of place and belonging. Primary school-aged readers familiar with Seymour’s Open Your Heart to Country and Lisa Kennedy’s books will appreciate Muttonfish Magic. It is an impressive picture book that should receive critical acclaim and wide educational use. Joy Lawn Books and Publishing

Thanks to Magabala Books for my advance copy of Muttonfish Magic which will be published this week.

When you share this book in your library, please talk about Aunty Ruth Simms and explain that this story comes from her lived experience. You could find a map of the La Perouse area and talk about the way the kids and their mother walked across a golf course. You will also need to look at pictures of muttonfish (abalone) and muckendy (rock cod). Other names for abalone are: Sea Ears, Ear Shells, Muttons Shells, Muttonfish, Pāua, and Ormer. Here is a video from the ABC you could share with your older students. 

Muttonfish (abalone)

Read more about Red Rock Cod here

You might compare this photo with the wonderful illustration by Jasmine Seymour

Better Read Kids are hosting an event for this book on 21st February 2026.

It would be good to also read Going Fishing with Nana. I would also share Going for Pippies and Three Dresses. 

Aunty Ruth Simms was born on The Reserve in La Perouse in 1941 as one of nine children. She grew up with a strong connection to both Larpa and Jerrinja cultures. From a young age she learnt about traditional bush foods, language and medicines and went to sleep on ‘goonjarn’ stories (ancient spirit stories). Today, Ruth lives in Nowra with her daughter Trudy and works as an Aboriginal Education Officer (AEO) in local primary schools. She has a Diploma of Education and is passionate about embedding Indigenous perspectives into the curriculum. She is currently the longest serving AEO at the NSW Department of Education and remains a strong advocate for her people. In 2012, Aunty Ruth was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her contributions to education.

Lucy Robertson is a primary school Teacher Librarian and has always been passionate about good stories. She grew up on a vineyard and winery in Mudgee before studying journalism and creative writing, later completing an education degree after a move to the South Coast surfing village of Culburra Beach. When Lucy first started working with Aunty Ruth, she was struck by her beautiful stories of fishing, crabbing and shell work with her family in La Perouse and ‘The Dock’ in Orient Point, eventually convincing her to start writing them down for future generations.

Jasmine Seymour is a Dharug woman and descendant of Maria Lock, who was the daughter of Yarramundi, the Boorooberongal elder who had met Governor Phillip on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in 1791. Maria was the first Aboriginal woman to be educated by the Blacktown Native Institute. She was married to carpenter and convict, Robert Lock and their union resulted in thousands of descendants who can all trace their Dharug heritage back past Yarramundi. Jasmine is a member of the Dharug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation.

Baby Business

Here is an interview with Jasmine Seymour about this book

The Giver by Lois Lowry

“Jonas,” she said, speaking not to him alone but to the entire community of which he was a part, “you will be trained to be our next Receiver of Memory. 

We thank you for your childhood.”

“But why can’t everyone have the memories? I think it would seem a little easier if the memories were shared. You and I wouldn’t have to bear so much by ourselves, if everybody took a part.”

People felt things once. You and I have been part of that, so we know. We know that they once felt things like pride, and sorrow, and—” “And love,” Jonas added, remembering the family scene that had so affected him. “And pain.”

Many of you (my blog readers) will be familiar with The Giver so I will just give you a brief plot summary (or you could read the Kirkus review see below) and then I will share some text quotes which resonated with me.

Bookseller blurb: It is the future. There is no war, no hunger, no pain. No one in the community wants for anything. Everything needed is provided. And at twelve years old, each member of the community has their profession carefully chosen for them by the Committee of Elders. Twelve-year old Jonas has never thought there was anything wrong with his world. But from the moment he is selected as the Receiver of Memory, Jonas discovers that their community is not as perfect as it seems. It is only with the help of the Giver, that Jonas can find what has been lost. And it is only through his personal courage that Jonas finds the strength to do what is right…

Text quotes:

For a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure. 

He listened politely, though not very attentively, while his father took his turn, describing a feeling of worry that he’d had that day at work: a concern about one of the newchildren who wasn’t doing well. Jonas’s father’s title was Nurturer. He and the other Nurturers were responsible for all the physical and emotional needs of every newchild during its earliest life.

There were only two occasions of release which were not punishment. Release of the elderly, which was a time of celebration for a life well and fully lived; and release of a newchild, which always brought a sense of what-could-we-have-done. This was especially troubling for the Nurturers, like Father, who felt they had failed somehow. But it happened very rarely.

The children all received their bicycles at Nine; they were not allowed to ride bicycles before then. But almost always, the older brothers and sisters had secretly taught the younger ones. Jonas had been thinking already about teaching Lily.

Mirrors were rare in the community; they weren’t forbidden, but there was no real need of them, and Jonas had simply never bothered to look at himself very often even when he found himself in a location where a mirror existed. Now, seeing the newchild and its expression, he was reminded that the light eyes were not only a rarity but gave the one who had them a certain look ...

The little girl nodded and looked down at herself, at the jacket with its row of large buttons that designated her as a Seven. Fours, Fives, and Sixes all wore jackets that fastened down the back so that they would have to help each other dress and would learn interdependence. The front-buttoned jacket was the first sign of independence, the first very visible symbol of growing up. The bicycle, at Nine, would be the powerful emblem of moving gradually out into the community, away from the protective family unit.

Your living arrangements will have to be different from those of most family units, because the books are forbidden to citizens. You and I are the only ones with access to the books.” Jonas glanced around at the astonishing array of volumes. From time to time, now, he could see their colors. With their hours together, his and The Giver’s, consumed by conversation and by the transmission of memories, Jonas had not yet opened any of the books. But he read the titles here and there, and knew that they contained all of the knowledge of centuries, and that one day they would belong to him.

To his surprise, his father began very carefully to direct the needle into the top of newchild’s forehead, puncturing the place where the fragile skin pulsed. The newborn squirmed, and wailed faintly. ... As he continued to watch, the newchild, no longer crying, moved his arms and legs in a jerking motion. Then he went limp. His head fell to the side, his eyes half open. Then he was still.

All of it was new to him. After a life of Sameness and predictability, he was awed by the surprises that lay beyond each curve of the road. He slowed the bike again and again to look with wonder at wildflowers, to enjoy the throaty warble of a new bird nearby, or merely to watch the way wind shifted the leaves in the trees. During his twelve years in the community, he had never felt such simple moments of exquisite happiness.

I first read The Giver back when it was published in 1993. This week I re-read so I could participate in an online a book club I've joined. I had forgotten so many details of this story including the open ending. 

Wrought with admirable skill—the emptiness and menace underlying this Utopia emerge step by inexorable step: a richly provocative novel. Kirkus

I think The Giver might have been my first experience of a dystopian story. I am a huge fan of this genre.

Listen to an audio sample here.

There are three more books in this series:

Gathering Blue; Messenger; and Son

Companion books:

Masterminds

Forbidden Memories

A Place called Perfect

Eventown

Among the Hidden

Where the river runs gold

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