Grandma's Christmas Wish

Winner of 2019 National Parenting Product Award

There is nothing like a grandmother's love. This sweet story celebrates the special bond between grandma and grandchild at Christmas time. With a bedtime-friendly singsong rhythm and adorable holiday illustrations, this books is sure to charm children and grandmothers alike!

Format List Price Your Price Qty
$15.99 $15.99
$8.99 $8.99
$27.99 $27.99
Interest Level Preschool - Grade 1
Reading Level Kindergarten
Dewey E
Lexile
ATOS Reading Level
Guided Reading Level
Language English
Publisher Sleeping Bear Press
Available Formats Hardcover (9781585369188), Boardbook (9781534110649), PDF (9781634704298), Hosted ebook (9781634704434)
Copyright 2015, 2019
Number of Pages 32, 18
Dimensions 10 x 10, 6 x 6
Graphics Full-color illustrations
  • 2019 National Parenting Product Awards, Winner

School Library Journal - Grandma's Christmas Wish

Like the author’s previous Grandma Loves You (Sleeping Bear, 2013), this picture book is a love letter from a grandmother rabbit to her young bunny grandchild. Simple rhyming text (“You fill up my heart/with holiday cheer./I love you, my love,/my snowflake, my dear”) addressed to the bunny imagines the joys in store at Christmas, from stockings to presents to plenty of hugs and kisses. While the text is only peripherally about the holiday, the full-spread paintings depict a cozy burrow with a Christmas tree, handmade ornaments, and presents; outside glitters a snow-covered landscape. On every page, the rabbits hug, snuggle, play, and gaze into each other’s eyes—the grandma/grandchild love is clear. VERDICT Due to the space at the back to write a letter to one’s grandchild and paste a photo, this title would work better as a gift book than in a library setting.

Kirkus Reviews - Grandma's Christmas Wish

A gray grandma bunny expresses her love for her little bunny grandbaby in this sweetly sentimental sequel to Grandma Loves You! (2013). The short, gracefully rhyming text is written in first person from the grandma’s point of view, stating her love for her grandchild in different ways. Her Christmas wish is for nothing more than hugs and kisses from the little bunny, and of course the best Christmas present for a grandparent is the great gift of the grandchild’s mere existence. In the pictures, the kindhearted grandma helps the bunny put a star on the top of their tree, plays outside with the little one in the snow, and gives her grandchild a Christmas gift of a doll made from a pine cone and twigs. The text is playful and succinct, conveying emotion with just a few well-chosen words that will stand up to inevitable multiple rereadings. Soft-focus, detailed illustrations are filled with light in the rabbit’s cozy burrow and in snowy outdoor scenes with falling snowflakes or bright moonlight. The rabbits are utterly charming, with emotionally appealing faces expressing their joy in being together and their loving relationship. Concluding pages include space for a letter from grandmother to grandchild as well as a photo, which makes this more suitable for a gift purchase than for libraries. Perhaps a little too sweet in tone for some, but most grandmas would love to read this to a grandchild. (Picture book. 2-4)

Author: Helen Foster James

Helen Foster James is a former teacher and coordinator of library media services. She received her doctorate from Northern Arizona University. She has published a number of books with Sleeping Bear Press, including: Welcome to the World; Grandma’s Christmas Wish; E is for Enchantment: A New Mexico Alphabet; S is for S’mores: A Camping Alphabet; Little California; Little America; Paper Son: Lee’s Journey to America; Christmas With Auntie; and the whole Loves You! series. She enjoys taking long walks along the beach in San Diego.

Illustrator: Petra Brown

Petra Brown has been a children's book illustrator since 2006 when her first picture book If Big Can...I Can, was shortlisted for the Booktrust Early Years Awards for Best Emerging Illustrator. Since then she has been illustrating for a range of publishers in the United Kingdom and abroad. Petra comments, "I love drawing animals with human expressions. I find it such fun creating, for example, a thoughtful fox, a happy hippo, a shy sheep, or a caring bear! The other thing I like is creating landscapes, places where my characters can run about and have adventures. Living in a magnificent place like Snowdonia helps a great deal." Petra lives with her partner in Wales.

Author/Illustrator biography
Full-color illustrations