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Reviewed by:
  • Following Grandfather
  • Jeannette Hulick
Wells, Rosemary. Following Grandfather; illus. by Christopher Denise. Candlewick, 2012. 58p. ISBN 978-0-7636-5069-8 $14.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 2–4.

Little Jenny the mouse and her grandfather spend much of their time together, trekking around Boston and going to the beach to look for shells (especially the rare and beautiful “queen’s teacup”) while her parents run their busy restaurant. When Grandfather dies, Jenny misses him terribly—so much so that she starts following other mice that she mistakes for him (“It can’t be him, I told myself, but the pull to follow was as irresistible as the current of the sea”). The last of these “Grandfather [End Page 223] sightings” leads her to the sea where she finds “four perfect gold queen’s teacups,” which she interprets as a gentle message of love from her departed grandfather. Kids who have lost a beloved family member may certainly relate to this, and the compact page count and frequent illustrations make this accessible as a longer readaloud for younger children as well. Wells’ moving (but not overly sweet) text and Denise’s pictures both have a dreamily vintage feel to them, and the piquant textual details of Jenny’s world and soft-edged digital illustrations of adorable mice in clothing may appeal to readers who love all things miniature. Denise is particularly skilled at playing light and shadow against one another and at creating strong compositions, as in the picture of a small but robust, suspenders-wearing Grandfather playing with tinier Jenny in a shaft of sunlight in their attic home. Those who appreciate a more lyrical approach to the loss of an elder may prefer this to the more comic Alvin Ho: Allergic to Dead Bodies (BCCB 1/11).

Jeannette Hulick
Reviewer
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