Maud and Grand-Maud

June 1, 2020

PreS-Gr 2-Grand-Maud and her namesake granddaughter spend weekends together at Grand-Maud's house. They wear matching nightgowns, eat breakfast for dinner on tray tables while watching old movies, and sleep like sisters in twin beds in a room they share. But wait, there's more! Under young Maud's bed there is a wooden chest that Grand-Maud has hidden a treasure in at each visit; something bought or something made. O'Leary and Pak take readers through the weekend with sepia-toned sketches that are as aspirational as they are nostalgic. Who wouldn't want to be a grandmother like Grand-Maud, and who wouldn't want to be a young Maud, so appreciated and beloved? VERDICT A lovely story of cross-generational ties, this may resonate more with adults than with children. Recommended for large collections.-Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter Sch., Providence

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2020
During sleepovers with her grandmother, a young girl imagines she'll be just like her grandmother one day. On special weekends, Maud spends the night at her grandmother's house, watching black-and-white movies, eating breakfast for dinner, and telling stories. Maud loves imagining the past, when Grand-Maud was a little girl, as well as the future, when Maud will become a Grand-Maud herself with a granddaughter to love. An ode to intergenerational relationships, O'Leary's story unfolds in a series of short vignettes. The connections between past and present are strengthened as the two characters ask each other questions and explore the answers. Maud's love and adoration for her grandmother make up the backbone of this comforting book, perfect for a snuggly, bedtime read. Textured, sepia-toned backgrounds set off characters rendered in saturated colors. As the story drifts backward and forward in time, Pak's illustrations provide a strong framework to help readers keep their footing. Grand-Maud is depicted with white hair and pale skin; in a photograph of her as a child, she has blond hair. Maud has straight black hair and presents Asian. When Maud speaks of the seven children she might have one day, she imagines them to have many different combinations of her and Grand-Maud's physical traits. This cozy book is as comforting as a warm quilt and a cup of hot chocolate on a cold night. (Picture book. 4-8)

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Starred review from August 1, 2020
Preschool-G *Starred Review* On special Saturdays, Maud goes to stay with Grand-Maud, her grandmother. She looks forward to their sleepover routine. Wearing floor-length flannel nightgowns made by Grand-Maud, they sit side by side in the living room, eating breakfast foods for supper while watching a black-and-white movie on TV. Each time she visits, Maud looks into the wooden chest beneath her bed and finds a small treasure just for her�?a watercolor paint set, a heart-shaped stone, or an old photo of Grand-Maud riding an elephant. On this visit, before falling asleep, Maud imagines that one day she will have seven children. In her dream, her granddaughter joins her for sleepovers on special Saturdays. A Canadian writer, O'Leary creates the characters' personalities and expresses their mutual affection through well-chosen words, details, and conversations such as, ?You never told me you rode on a real elephant, ' said Maud. ?You never asked, ' said Grand-Maud. Apart from the occasional surprise, there's a reassuring sense of order in the child's visits to Grand-Maud's home, and in the well-composed illustrations of the place itself. Featuring a dusky palette with warm undertones, Pak's artwork uses color sparingly and effectively. While neither character is effusive, their warm relationship is clear. A quiet, understated gem among intergenerational picture books.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

Starred review from August 24, 2020
The 24 hours that Maud spends with her namesake grandparent are packed with activity and indulgences: matching handmade nightgowns, breakfast for dinner, and “any kind of movie as long as it is in black and white.” In a wooden chest that sits in the bedroom she shares with Grand-Maud, surprises await—something store-bought, or, even better, something Grand-Maud has made by hand or cherished. The visits inspire Maud to journey to the past and future, as she imagines her grandmother’s early life (through a photo of a very young Grand-Maud on an elephant) and Maud’s own adult life, which includes seven children (and a seven-layer bunk bed) as well as hosting the family’s next Maud. Pak’s mixed media art strikes a lovely balance between cozy and elegant; softly textured and sepia-toned, illustrations are punctuated with red elements that connect one generation to the other. O’Leary’s measured narration reflects a relationship and a rapport that is not only unconditionally loving, but also beautifully, profoundly respectful on both sides. Ages 3–7.

July 1, 2020
"On special Saturdays, Maud goes to Grand-Maud's house and doesn't go home until Sunday," begins this warm story about a young girl's weekend visits to her grandmother's city apartment. In matching plaid flannel nightgowns that go "all the way to the floor," Maud and Grand-Maud eat breakfast for supper ("No matter what you like to eat for breakfast, it somehow always tastes better at suppertime") and watch a movie ("as long as it is in black and white") before nestling down in adjacent twin beds. Maud's bed is special "not just because Maud always has good dreams when she sleeps in it, though she always does" but because under the bed is an old wooden chest, full of treasures from Grand-Maud. Some are from a store (watercolor paints or a toy) and others handmade by Grand-Maud (a sweater). But best of all are the ones from when Grand-Maud was a little girl. For these are the treasures (a rock shaped like a heart, an old photograph, a book) that give Maud insight into her grandmother's life and provide room to dream about the day when she might have a granddaughter of her own. Pak's watercolor, pencil, collage, ink, and digital illustrations use touches of periwinkle and rose-red against a muted background to reflect the warmth and safety of Grand-Maud's home and the tender intergenerational bond that is the very heart of this story.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2020
"On special Saturdays, Maud goes to Grand-Maud's house and doesn't go home until Sunday, " begins this warm story about a young girl's weekend visits to her grandmother's city apartment. In matching plaid flannel nightgowns that go "all the way to the floor, " Maud and Grand-Maud eat breakfast for supper ("No matter what you like to eat for breakfast, it somehow always tastes better at suppertime") and watch a movie ("as long as it is in black and white") before nestling down in adjacent twin beds. Maud's bed is special "not just because Maud always has good dreams when she sleeps in it, though she always does" but because under the bed is an old wooden chest, full of treasures from Grand-Maud. Some are from a store (watercolor paints or a toy) and others handmade by Grand-Maud (a sweater). But best of all are the ones from when Grand-Maud was a little girl. For these are the treasures (a rock shaped like a heart, an old photograph, a book) that give Maud insight into her grandmother's life and provide room to dream about the day when she might have a granddaughter of her own. Pak's watercolor, pencil, collage, ink, and digital illustrations use touches of periwinkle and rose-red against a muted background to reflect the warmth and safety of Grand-Maud's home and the tender intergenerational bond that is the very heart of this story. Emmie Stuart

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)