From Publishers Weekly
"Know your history!" These words, uttered by the man whom artist Ashley Bryan adopted as a grandfather, are taken to heart by all of the contributors to this collection, a companion volume to Giovanni's Grand Mothers. While some of the 47 writers of these poems and reminiscences (and even a song) celebrate the relationship between grandfather and grandchild, the majority focus on documenting the lives of the men who came before them, setting down details of births, marriages, children and careers as a testament to their courage, strong wills and, occasionally, to their failures. Eugenia Collier crafts a toast to her step-grandfather, born "in the first generation after slavery"; Walter J. Leonard relates the pithy words of wisdom he learned from his grandfather's experience as teacher and minister. In a finely honed piece, Lydie Raschka writes of her Norwegian grandfather ("Talking was not his strong point"), who raised his two children alone after his wife's suicide. Marina Budhos attests, in spare language, to the power of her Russian Jewish grandfather even after he disowns his daughter. Few of the pieces tell a sustained story; rather, like mosaics, they capture their subjects by juxtaposing small snippets of a life one against another. This technique, as well as the mature insights and sensibilities of the essayists, may attract more adults than teens. Though a fitting homage, this volume, with its smattering of handsome black-and-white photographs, is most effective as a moving collection of American social history. Ages 11-up. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up-A companion volume to Giovanni's Grand Mothers (Holt, 1995). More than 40 individuals from all walks of life have contributed pieces to this anthology, and the literary quality and interest level vary considerably. Some of the pieces are by well-known writers and poets-Liz Rosenberg, Rita Dove, and Ashley Bryan-while others are by first-time authors. Some of the vignettes and biographical sketches reveal more about the writers than about their subjects; few are memorable. There are some links with history, notably in a section on great grandfathers of Civil War vintage, but many of the portraits never rise above the conventional and predictable. The overall effect is of repetition, forgivable in an oral-history project, but less tolerable in a children's book perhaps. While these grandfathers were important figures to the writers, few of them have been able to convey a compelling sense of the individuality or larger significance of the men in question.
Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
