kirkusreviews.com
Granny and grandchild travel by
sharing her memories.
Adventurous, much-traveled Granny “can’t
remember yesterday, but she knows all about the world.” The narrator cheerfully
says: “That’s fine with me. I can remember yesterday myself. But I need my
granny to take me travelling.” The child wisely realizes that grown-ups (likely
the peripatetic woman’s offspring) think something is wrong. “The grown-ups say
Granny is confused and doesn’t know where she is. But I think she knows exactly
where she is. It just isn’t where the grown-ups are.” Granny luckily still
lives surrounded by objects collected on her travels. The armchair travelers go
far. Full-bleed, double-page spreads painted in intense colors and in Corr’s
signature charming, naïve style show the duo in Delhi, Rome, Jerusalem, London,
New York, and elsewhere. All of these places and more are pointed out on the
back endpaper map, where Granny’s souvenirs appear in a matching activity.
There’s also a note about dementia directed at adults. Unfortunately, the
visual imagery includes many international tropes, such as the safari in an
unnamed African country and copious Orientalism in the depiction of Delhi.
Labeling of specific sites is scattershot. Granny and her family present white.
Despite these missteps, children
need to cherish their grandparents, who may develop dementia, and this picture
book tackles that issue effectively. (Picture book. 5-8)
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