No matter what your kids call their grandparents, from oma, opa, mimi, granny, or gramps, the relationship between a grandchild and a grandparent is special indeed. Whether your child is celebrating grandma on Mother's Day, papa on Father's Day, nonna and nonno on Grandparents Day, or it's just an ordinary Thursday, reading fun books about these special people with our little ones is always a good idea.
1. How to Babysit a Grandpa by Jean Reagan is a funny story about role reversal. Instead of the grandpa being the babysitter, the child gets to do the babysitting. It's a comical "how to" story including ideas of things to do with grandpa to keep him busy and happy.
2. Get ready to babysit grandma in How to Babysit a Grandma, also by Jean Reagan. Toddlers will be amused by the list of things to do with grandmas, including going to the park, having a costume parade, and making snickerdoodle cookies. Grandmas need to be kept very busy!
3. Grandma Loves You Because You're You by Liza Baker is full of reassuring reasons that grandma loves her little one, from their time spent making pancakes together to picking wildflowers hand in hand. The rhyming lyrical text begs for grandma and her little one to snuggle together while reading.
4. We all love to daydream about our kids growing older with their grandparents. In When I Am Old With You by Angela Johnson, a little girl thinks about getting older and all the things she will do with her granddaddy.
5. How many things can a grandfather make from his coat? Your kids will find out in My Grandfather's Coat by Jim Aylesworth. With a little snip here and a little stitch there to his tattered wears, grandfather is able to create many different things.
6. Your child can explore the world reading In Grandma's Arms by Jayne C. Shelton while learning that a grandma can make the best buddy for her next big adventure!
7. Sometimes, it can be tricky forming connections between grandchildren and grandparents. In Drawn Together by Minh Lê your child can find all of the important ways to create a bond with a grandparent that can never be broken and communicate without needing words.
8. From the great Henry and Mudge series, share Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas (#26) by Cynthia Rylant with your child to teach him that grandpas can be a whole lot of fun, especially if your child's grandparent lives with other grandmas and grandpas too!
These stories would make great gifts to keep at grandma or grandpa's house, but they're also good to have at home when a little one is missing their grandparent, too. Get ideas for how to celebrate grandparents — and print out a copy of this Grandparents Day card for your little one to color in!
Connect with Jodie at Growing Book by Book.