Lynn Plourde - Children's Book Author

Thank You, Grandpa - Illustration

THANK YOU, GRANDPA
written by Lynn Plourde, illustrated by Jason Cockcroft
Dutton Children’s Books, 2003

Over the years, there were many more
“thank you’s and “good-byes.”

They found a butterfly on the side of the road,
and Grandpa said, “You have traveled far from
caterpillar to butterfly. Thank you for showing
us how to age with beauty and grace.”

The girl added, “Thank you, butterfly,
for being a flower with wings.”

About the Book

This book tells the story of a special relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter. The two take nature walks starting when the girl is just a toddler—they “wobbled along, side by side, hand in hand, smile to smile.” When they discover a dead grasshopper on a walk, the girl asks what they should do. Her grandfather’s reply is “We can say thank you and good-bye.” And so they say this message to the grasshopper and other dead creatures that they discover on their walks throughout the years. As they age, grandfather and granddaughter “shuffle along, side by side, hand in hand, smile to smile . . . until one day the girl walks alone.” Then the girl must use the lesson she learned and say a final, special “thank you and good-bye” to her beloved grandfather.

Reviews

Booklist . . . the lyrical language is lovely, and the story serves as a gentle, not overly sentimental, look at life in the moment and in memory.

St. Petersburg Times . . . Not since Tomie dePaola's Nana Upstairs, Nana Downstairs have I been so touched by a story of a child losing a grandparent.

Kirkus . . . The images of nature are beautiful, and the joy the grandfather and girl feel at being together is evident in their faces. This (book) will provide comfort in times of loss with its reassurance that death is part of the natural cycle of life.
L.A. Daily News . . . This is a wonderful, sensitive book about a painful topic. Share it with a youngster who's lost a cherished relative.

School Library Journal . . . . Plourde's thoughtful text and Cockcroft's expressive paintings work well together to convey both a respect for life and an awareness of the power of love. Soft, light-filled illustrations celebrate the pastoral setting, while the realistic portraits bring the child and her grandfather to life. Cockcroft does a particularly good job of conveying the passage of time, both in the growth of the child and in the more gradual change in the grandfather's appearance. Snippets of dialogue enliven the text and balance the serious subject matter. Parents looking for a way to introduce this difficult topic will appreciate the sensitive story, but it's possible that even browsers who aren't seeking this specific subject will appreciate this unusual picture book.

Honors

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award 2003 & 2004

Barbara Karlin Grant - the story received this picture book text award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in 1996

Wisconsin State Reading Association-Children's Literature Committee-starred book on 2004 picture book list

Golden Trap Award (for Maine's islands)-on final list of family books for 2004

2004 Cream of the Crop, Maine Library System

Learning Activities

· The girl and the grandfather take special nature walks together in this book—noticing birds, flowers, squirrels, spider webs, and more. Take a walk in nature and then draw a picture showing what you saw on the walk or write a paragraph describing your walk.

· Tell about a special memory of yours involving a grandparent—such as cooking together, taking a trip, doing a project, going shopping, or whatever. If your grandparent is still alive and able, have him or her record his or her memories of that same shared experience. Did you both tell the same details? Use similar words? Who remembered more?

· In this book the girl and grandpa say “thank you’s” to a grasshopper, butterfly, mouse, and firefly. Each time they thank the creature for being one of a kind, the only one like it in the universe. What message might they have said to a snake, a bumblebee, a hummingbird, a horse, a whale (that is, what makes each of these unique/one of a kind?).

· Discuss feelings of sadness. Did you cry when you read/heard this book? Did the person who read it to you cry? Do you think it’s okay to cry when you read a sad book or see a sad movie? Why or why not?

· Write your own thank you card to someone—perhaps a pet, a friend, a relative—someone who is special to you. It doesn’t have to be to someone who has died, but it could be. Share the card with someone if you’d like.
· Discuss feelings of sadness. Did you cry when you read/heard this book? Did the person who read it to you cry? Do you think it’s okay to cry when you read a sad book or see a sad movie? Why or why not?

Story Behind the Story

Grammy Ambrose, 19008-1969

This book has had the longest journey of any picture book that I’ve had published to date. For awhile I thought that this book would not “happen,” but I’m so glad that it did, and it was definitely worth waiting for.

I first wrote this story in 1996, but it’s a story that I’d needed to write since 1969 when I was thirteen years old and my grandmother died. Her name was Adrian Ambrose, but I called her Grammy Ambrose. She was my mother’s mother, and we visited her each weekend at her home in Dexter, Maine. I worshiped my Grammy Ambrose; and so when she died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 61, I was so sad—but I didn’t know how to deal with my sadness.

Gee, 1910-1996

Then many years later in 1996, my husband’s grandmother died. Her name was Virginia Bridgham, but everyone called her “Gee.” For the first time my three children had to deal with the death of a loved one. I wanted to help them to deal with death better than I’d been able to when my grandmother died—but I still felt inadequate. Yet my mother-and-father-in-law seemed to know exactly what to do—they had a wonderful service celebrating who Gee was (including the dolls she’d crocheted, the mittens she’d knit, the beano cards she’d enjoyed, and more). It truly was a celebration of her as an individual. After the service, I realized that many of us say “good-bye” when someone close to us dies, but we forget to say “thank you”—for being the only one of your kind EVER in the universe. And so I wanted to write a book that included this “thank you” message. The result was Thank You, Grandpa.

This story came full circle in 1998 when I read it aloud as part of my grandfather’s eulogy at his funeral. This story of a grandfather and granddaughter helped me and others to say a special “thanks” to my Pépère, Leon Plourde Sr., for being such as unique and special part of our lives.

Pépère Plourde, 1912-1998

This story was almost published several years ago by a different publisher. But the illustrator they’d lined up for the book didn’t work out and so they decided to cancel the book. But as fate would have it, another publishing company (with an editor who was one of the judges for the Barbara Karlin Grant Award which the story received in 1996 and the same editor who had originally signed up the book at the first publishing company—before leaving to work at her current publishing company) signed up the book to be published. The editor found an up and coming illustrator, Jason Cockcroft of England. And so the Thank You, Grandpa was published in 2003, seven years after it was written.

Jason Cockcroft is the perfect illustrator for this book—his illustrations made me cry when I saw them. They are so beautiful and bring the grandfather and granddaughter to life, showcasing their special bond. Jason Cockcroft is the illustrator of several other picture books, including his most recent Daddy’s Lullaby, Billywise, and The Little Blue Rabbit. Jason also is the illustrator of the British children’s edition cover of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.