My Grandma is Coming to Town Book

When a familiar phone voice is suddenly there in person, little Albert develops a major case of shyness, but it’s nothing that sharing some favorite rhymes can’t cure.

Hark, hark, the dogs do bark,
My grandma is coming to town.
She’ll fly in a great big airplane,
Up in the air and down.

Even though Grandma lives far away, Albert loves talking to her on the phone and receiving the gifts she sends in the mail. So he’s thrilled that Grandma is coming to visit - until the moment she arrives, when he suddenly feels strangely shy. But thanks to their favorite rhymes and a bit of make-believe, a long-distance grandma becomes a wonderful reality in this sweet, cheerily illustrated story about a special family tie.

Publishers Weekly

In Hines's (My Own Big Bed) sympathetic and developmentally astute story, young Albert, the narrator, discovers that a grandma in person trumps a long-distance grandma any day. Albert hasn't seen his "Pat-a-Cake Grandma" since his baby days, but he cherishes his memories of playing the game with her ("I could only say, `Patta patta, rolla rolla' ") and when she calls, they have a special "telephone game" (she says, "Patta patta" and he answers, "Rolla rolla"). But when Grandma shows up in person on his doorstep, Albert needs time to adjust: "She sounded like my Pat-a-Cake Grandma, only closer. I wanted to say `Rolla rolla,' but my mouth couldn't. I was too shy of this grandma." Sweet's (Fiddle-I-Fee) cheery acrylics and pencil illustrations convey Albert's conflicting emotions with aplomb. He covers his eyes in a futile attempt to disappear, then hides behind his stuffed dog. Author and artist do not belabor Albert's struggle to reconcile Grandma-the-idea vs. Grandma-in-the-flesh, nor do they bring in the grownups to intervene. Instead, they wisely allow Albert to overcome his reticence all by himself: he calls Grandma on his toy phone (Grandma answers with a nearby banana) and joyfully confirms that the wonderful voice he hears belongs to the nice lady in the chair next to him, "My real Pat-a-Cake Grandma." Albert's savvy self-sufficiency should leave youngsters beaming with approval-and perhaps they will discover its application in their own lives. Ages 3-6. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.