Customer Reviews

Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs (Picture Puffins)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful tale of a 4-year-old boy's close relationship with his 94-year-old great-grandmother. His great-grandmother lives in the upstairs bedroom of the house with his grandmother and grandfather, who play a lesser role in the book. The little boy has a weekly routine of visiting "Nana Upstairs" and sharing mints with her. It is nice to see an elderly person being cared for in the home of relatives rather than in a nursing home! She is so frail that she can't sit upright unassisted, so she is tied into a chair. Don't worry; this is not a scary thing! The little boy also insists on being tied in, so they can be alike. Eventually Nana Upstairs dies. This is not over dramatized and my children were not upset about this, perhaps because the boy is comforted when he sees a falling star in the sky and thinks it is a sign that Nana Upstairs is sending him a kiss. Years later we see the boy as an adult and we find out that Nana Downstairs has died, and he sees another shooting star and is again comforted.

This is a lovely picture book representing a strong bond between a grandparents and their grandson. If you enjoy this book, you'll also like Tomie DePaola's "Now One Foot, Now the Other".

I learned of this book by reading an analysis of it in the book "Inside Picture Books" by Ellen H. Spitz, which is a very detailed analysis of the content of picture books focusing on themes of bedtime, separation, grandparents, death, children's behaviors/manners, and a child's self-concept and self-esteem.

My 3 and 6 year old sons love the book as do I! We originally borrowed it from the library but this is one we'll have to buy so I can keep up with their repeated requests for it!

The older version has pictures in pink, tan, and black. The new version has more colors in the illustrations. Both versions are illustrated by Tomie DePaola.

Young Tommy struggles through his happy childhood having two nana's. He loves both of them very much. One is his great grama and the other his gramma. One is very old and stays upstairs, so she is nana upstairs and the same with nana downstairs. One day, n.u. dies and tommy is sad. He wakes up in the middle of the night and sees a shooting star. His mommy says it is a kiss. Well as tommy grows, the same happens to n.d. It happens all over again. I loved this book, it made me cry when i first read it when i was 2.

This work was pretty impressive and this comes from one who is not overly fond of the "death and dying" genre of children's literature. This is a story of a young mans relation ship with his great-grandmother and grandmother and the love between them. The book is of course about the loss of a loved one, one who has been apart of your life for as long as you can remember. The subject is delt with in a loving and sensitive way. There are no real tears here, no real sadness, rather a justifiable feeling of loss at first, but then understanding. This is a situation faced by most children from time to time and in fact all of us have probably gone through this sort of expierence. This book is quite useful in talking to children about the subject of death and approaches it in a very positive way. This illustrations are great and the text is simple, to the point, and follows the illustrations quite well. This is one of those books that I think either the parent or teacher could well read with the child as is is bound to bring up some good questions. Recommend this one highly.

This is an absolutely wonderful book that I read when I was a child. My grandmother died when I was in high school, and I immediately tried to find this book. It made me feel at peace with her and helped me get through her death. It was a wonderful book when I was young, and just as wonderful as I grew older. Timeless... as I'm now in my mid twenties, when I want to think of her, I read the book. My children will also come to love it!

This is a wonderful book that i remember from my own youth. It deals with the death of loved ones in a very gentle manner. This book deals with the young, the old, and the elderly....and the close sense of family is what helps Tommy through the grieving process when Nana Upstairs dies. This is an excellent book for children of all ages.

This is a very gentle way of coping with the loss a death brings upon someone. Tommy was very lucky to have spent part of his life with his great-grandmother. Being a true story, I'm sure Tomie dePaola cherishes the memories of his Sunday visits to Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs. The unusual things (like being tied to a chair) and the stories are what make the memories special. My favorite character in this story was Tommy. I would recommend this book to anyone, of any age. It is especially good for a child coping with the death of a loved one.

As a child, a copy of this book was purchased for me by a close friend of the family. I was born without grandfathers, as both died before I was born. My grandmothers were all quite old and it turned out that this book was a comfort to me as they had both died by the time I was seven. Mine is the original colours - brown and pink - but I'm sure this copy is as good if not better. I definately recommend it.

This is a very good book. I liked this book because it showed the love of a family, and how they could all take care of each other. Nana Upstairs was a very special person to Tommy, and he will never forget all the good times they had, like eating their candy and talking while being tied to chairs. Tommy didn't understand why his Nana Upstairs couldn't be there anymore. I think he really started to understand when he saw the star. Tommy is my favorite character because he cares about his family so much, and he looks forward to going on the Sunday visits to Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs house. The cakes the Nana Downstairs makes, and the candy Nana Upstairs always has for Tommy. This was a wonderful story, and becasue it is true I hope Tommy will always have these wonderful memories.

This book is a true gem. Your child (and you!) will fall in love with the sweet and simple story about a young boy and his beloved grandmothers. The illustrations are sensational, and they evoke the same meaningful feelings the text doles out. This book will give everyone who reads it a greater appreciation for life, for loved ones and for children.

I purchased this book for my 3 and 4 year old daughters because we knew that there Great Grandfather would be passing away soon.
It was very easy for my 4 year old to grasp the concept.
It helped talk about the subject after he passed away because we had something for them to go back and relate to.
This is a Wonderful book.