Grandma’s House by Alice Melvin is a lovely little book from Tate Publishing and is one that Daniel and I have been enjoying the past few weeks.
The story follows a little girl who arrives at Grandma’s house where everything is different but always stays the same. She enters the house, hangs up her coat and proceeds through the house, searching for her Grandma.
It is sumptuously illustrated with lovely colourful pictures and cut outs as you enter into each new room. Daniel loves it when the little girl heads up to the loft in search of her Grandma as the pages fold out as she climbs the stairs. The details are exquisite from the ornaments sat on top of the mantelpiece to the items in the sewing room. It is clear that this is borne out of memories and love for the author’s own Grandma (and she does indeed reference this at the end of the book).
This is such a lovely book and heartwarming book and will invoke, I am sure, many memories for the readers of their own grandparents’ homes (I recall the treasure trove of nick nacks my nana had, the biscuit tins and the TV magazines I’d read to her with the soap spoilers). I hope in years to come Daniel and Emma will look back at this book and recall their own Grandma’s house complete with the clocks, books and other items that are so familiar to them.
The little girl tours her Grandma’s home, seeking out those little things that she loves and it reminded me of Daniel who, when he was much younger had to go on a tour of my parent’s home whenever her got there to gather various soft toys that they had dotted around the place. There is now a new ritual of dancing and singing before they leave (which is a whole different blog post!) but is something that they love doing and will be ingrained in their memories for many years to come.
Grandma’s house is a lovely book to share with a child and would make a lovely gift for any Grandma or indeed child. It is beautifully and intricately illustrated and shares a story of a loving and important relationship for many children.
I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All words and opinions are my own.
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