Maud and Grand-Maud

by Sara O'Leary, Kenard Pak (Illustrator)

Overview

This sweet story captures the singular experience of a visit with Grandma, especially when you share a name - a perfect gift for Mother's Day!

Here is a celebration of the unique bond between grandparents and grandchildren. Maud loves the weekends when she stays at her grandma's house. There's always breakfast for supper, matching nightgowns, black-and-white movies, and—best of all—someone to listen to her dreams for her life as a grown-up. But what makes the visits extra special is what Grand-Maud has hidden in an old chest under Maud's bed. She may find a paint set, a toy, homemade cookies, or hand-knit mittens or sweaters. Best of all is when Maud finds something that belonged to Grand-Maud when she was a little girl. In this story of family togetherness, Maud wants to be just like Grand-Maud when she grows up.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399554582
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/18/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	220,273
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

SARA O'LEARY is a writer of fiction for both adults and children. She is the author of the award-winning Henry books: When You Were Small, Where You Came From, and When I Was Small, all illustrated by Julie Morstad. A graduate of the University of British Columbia Creative Writing Program, she has taught screenwriting and writing for children at Concordia University, Montreal. Sara was named for a grandmother who was called Sadie all her life. She is happy to have a child to name after her. Find her on Twitter at @saraoleary.

KENARD PAK is an animator and illustrator who has worked as a visual development artist for DreamWorks, PDI/DreamWorks, Walt Disney Feature Animation, and Laika. He has illustrated several picture books, including the acclaimed I Wonder, Have You Heard the Nesting Bird?, The Dinner That Cooked Itself, and Flowers Are Calling. Ken lives in foggy San Francisco with his wife and three cats.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/24/2020

The 24 hours that Maud spends with her namesake grandparent are packed with activity and indulgences: matching handmade nightgowns, breakfast for dinner, and “any kind of movie as long as it is in black and white.” In a wooden chest that sits in the bedroom she shares with Grand-Maud, surprises await—something store-bought, or, even better, something Grand-Maud has made by hand or cherished. The visits inspire Maud to journey to the past and future, as she imagines her grandmother’s early life (through a photo of a very young Grand-Maud on an elephant) and Maud’s own adult life, which includes seven children (and a seven-layer bunk bed) as well as hosting the family’s next Maud. Pak’s mixed media art strikes a lovely balance between cozy and elegant; softly textured and sepia-toned, illustrations are punctuated with red elements that connect one generation to the other. O’Leary’s measured narration reflects a relationship and a rapport that is not only unconditionally loving, but also beautifully, profoundly respectful on both sides. Ages 3–7. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

06/01/2020

PreS-Gr 2—Grand-Maud and her namesake granddaughter spend weekends together at Grand-Maud's house. They wear matching nightgowns, eat breakfast for dinner on tray tables while watching old movies, and sleep like sisters in twin beds in a room they share. But wait, there's more! Under young Maud's bed there is a wooden chest that Grand-Maud has hidden a treasure in at each visit; something bought or something made. O'Leary and Pak take readers through the weekend with sepia-toned sketches that are as aspirational as they are nostalgic. Who wouldn't want to be a grandmother like Grand-Maud, and who wouldn't want to be a young Maud, so appreciated and beloved? VERDICT A lovely story of cross-generational ties, this may resonate more with adults than with children. Recommended for large collections.—Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter Sch., Providence

School Library Journal

2020-05-17
During sleepovers with her grandmother, a young girl imagines she’ll be just like her grandmother one day.

On special weekends, Maud spends the night at her grandmother’s house, watching black-and-white movies, eating breakfast for dinner, and telling stories. Maud loves imagining the past, when Grand-Maud was a little girl, as well as the future, when Maud will become a Grand-Maud herself with a granddaughter to love. An ode to intergenerational relationships, O’Leary’s story unfolds in a series of short vignettes. The connections between past and present are strengthened as the two characters ask each other questions and explore the answers. Maud’s love and adoration for her grandmother make up the backbone of this comforting book, perfect for a snuggly, bedtime read. Textured, sepia-toned backgrounds set off characters rendered in saturated colors. As the story drifts backward and forward in time, Pak’s illustrations provide a strong framework to help readers keep their footing. Grand-Maud is depicted with white hair and pale skin; in a photograph of her as a child, she has blond hair. Maud has straight black hair and presents Asian. When Maud speaks of the seven children she might have one day, she imagines them to have many different combinations of her and Grand-Maud’s physical traits.

This cozy book is as comforting as a warm quilt and a cup of hot chocolate on a cold night. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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