Joel Strangis

When their grandfather comes to live with them, Prima, Aldora, Paula, and Marco are overjoyed: they love to listen to his tales of adventure at sea, and his stories of ancient Italy. But Mother - ever the realist - keeps insisting that there simply isn't enough food to feed the old man, and Father eventually decides to take him to a home for the elderly. It seems that there is nothing to be done, until Prima finds the words necessary to put things right...

Based upon an Italian folktale, Grandfather's Rock offers a sensitive depiction of a poor family struggling to make ends meet, while also doing what is right for their elderly relative. Joel Strangis's narrative - apparently gleaned from his own grandmother's telling - flows smoothly, and Ruth Gamper's watercolor illustrations capture the feel of the home and countryside being described. All in all, an excellent little picture-book, although I do wonder how it would go over with young readers whose grandparents are in homes for the elderly...… (meer)