PICTURE BOOK

Love You Back Grandma Umesh Shukla | All About Kids Publishing 36p, trade paper, $15.95, ISBN 979-8-988-90842-5

Graphic designer Shukla (author of Love You Back!) captures the sweet love between a young girl and her aging grandmother in this heartening picture book. Beginning with the unnamed narrator’s earliest childhood memories of her grandmother’s comforting arms when she was an infant, the story recounts the myriad ways her grandmother has held, played with, and loved her over the years. As she reflects on their time together—and shares each special recollection with her now elderly grandmother —the young girl professes her own love in return, with the heartfelt refrain “I love you back.”

Younger readers who have felt their own special connection with a grandparent will treasure this tender homage to a grandmother’s love. Balogh crafts kaleidoscopic illustrations of the narrator and her grandmother through the years, splashing their memories across brightly hued pages as they dance, talk, and hug, all framed by the granddaughter’s abiding affection. Those memories, though brief, speak volumes to the bond between the two, as when the narrator says “Grandma, remember those lazy days when you picked me up from school? We had giggling good times—broke every other rule” before reflecting on how her grandmother’s days have now grown longer, while her own have become shorter.

Perhaps most compelling is the stark representation of the story’s grandmother, noticeably older, seated on a bench while the narrator reflects on their days together as being increasingly “further apart.” To comfort her grandmother, she sings lullabies from her childhood that “still echo in [her] ears” and bestows her special stuffed animal “to say things will be alright and to tell you ‘I love you back.’” The ending is sweet, with the granddaughter declaring that she will “always be your little girl.” Backmatter includes opportunities for readers to share the reasons they love their own grandmothers.

Cover: A | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: A Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

Young girl’s sweet reflection on the love she has for her grandmother. Great for fans of Cathy Camper’s Ten Ways to Hear Snow, Dawn Casey’s My Nana’s Garden.