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Gran, Gran, Granny

From the Author

The world outside is full of wonders, just step out into nature and feel the pull of curiosity and exploration. Let your hungry outdoor spirit lead the way.  After reading Gran, Gran, Granny pull on those walking shoes or kick off those indoor shoes and let your feet explore a patch of green in the great outdoors. Scientists tell us that we feel better after a walk in the woods or a stroll through a grassy meadow. Although scientists haven't learned all the reasons for this healthy result, why wait...discover for yourself and adopt a special place to give you a best-day-ever kind of feeling.

"Gran, Gran, Granny" - Charmingly illustrated by Eric Groff, Gran, Gran, Granny is highly recommended for family, elementary school, middle school, and community library picture collections for young readers." - Midwest Book Review, March 2019.

Party today, far away ...

Sam finds a great deal to sing about as he echoes the family chatter on the way to visit a majestic forest friend in GRAN, GRAN, GRANNY. Lizzie tells this moment-in-time story as she, two brothers, and her parents hike up the well-worn trail to visit one grand old Douglas fir tree known as Granny. The forest is aflame with fall color, and the path is carpeted with fall leaf confetti on the day following a fierce and worrisome storm. A celebration cake swings along in mom's traveling basket as Lizzie, Nick, and Sam lead the way. Lace up you hiking boots, get set to catch a swirling leaf, and head up the path to celebrate a very grand old tree.
Illustrated by Eric Groff
Clear Fork Media, 2018

A Fishing Surprise

Picture Book: Written by Rae A. McDonald Illustrated by Kathleen Hadam Kemly
NorthWord, 2007 Available: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and your favorite Indie bookstores.

Two little fishers (mostly wishers!) are about to give up when they get a big surprise! Told in down-home toe-tapping rhyme, this fishin' tale captures the magic of a hot summer day and inspires a "sunny-side-up" look at life.

Kirkus Review (September 15, 2007)

In this delightfully simple offering, a boy and a girl spend the day fishing, hoping to catch some fish to fry for supper. Meanwhile, some apples fall into the river and begin to make their way toward the children. As readers follow the apples' journey, they are treated to several pages of Kemly's lovely watercolor and pastel illustrations of the wildlife in and around the stream. By afternoon's end, there are no fish in the bucket, but the children spy the apples floating by. Eagerly they scoop them up, deciding that tonight it will be apple pie, instead of fish, for dinner. McDonald uses short rhyming couplets in fun language that echoes the sounds of the natural world: As two ducks check out the apples floating by, the text reads, "Slish and slosh / Apples wash / Appily quackily / Bobbling happily." A gentle lesson that nature always provides if we are gracious enough to accept what she offers. (Picture book. 3-8)

School Library Journal Review (October 2007)

PreS-Gr 2-On a summer day, a brother and sister set out to catch some fish for supper. While they are waiting for bites on their lines, a breeze blows an apple windfall into the water, and they return home with their buckets full. The family enjoys a fruit pie instead of a fish fry. Kemly's sunny illustrations capture the rural setting, and children can follow the parallel adventures of two curious raccoons. Underwater perspectives show the apples bobbing below the surface alongside frogs and trout. Told in rhyming, staccato verse ("Eyes on the water/Sun feeling hotter/ Sitting fishing/Mostly wishing"), this simple story will appeal to children, including beginning readers.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada